Life quality assessment among patients with vitiligo: comparison of married and single patients in Iran.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Vitiligo is known to affect the quality of social and personal life in some countries. This study aims to assess the quality of life (QOL) in vitiligo sufferers among the Iranian population and to evaluate its relation with different variables.

METHODS

One hundred vitiligo patients answered a questionnaire based on the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI).

RESULTS

The mean DLQI score was 8.16. There were statistically significant relationships between DLQI scores and marital status, skin phototype, and disease extension independently.

CONCLUSIONS

This study shows that vitiligo has a major impact on the QOL of patients in Iran. Hence dermatologists should pay attention to the psychological effects of this cosmetic disease and try to decrease its extension and disfiguring effects by various treatments.