Study Examines Burden of Vitiligo in the US

Asian American, Hispanic/Latino, and older individuals appear to have the greatest burden of vitiligo in the United States.

The burden of vitiligo in the United States is poorly understood.
To investigate the incidence and prevalence of diagnosed vitiligo in the United States, the researchers used a 15% random sample of electronic medical records from the IBM Explorys database.
Two cohorts were included: 2,980,778 patients diagnosed with vitiligo between January 1, 2015, and December 31, 2019 (incidence analysis), and 1,057,534 patients diagnosed with vitiligo between January 1 and December 31, 2019 (prevalence analysis).
The main outcomes were incidence (per 100,000 person-years [PY]) and prevalence of diagnosed vitiligo overall and by age, race/ethnicity, and sex.

The age- and sex-adjusted overall incidence rate (IR) of diagnosed vitiligo was 22.6 per 100,000 PY, and the prevalence was 0.16%.
The sex-adjusted IR was highest among patients aged 60 to 69 years (25.3 per 100,000 PY); prevalence was highest among patients aged 70 years or older (0.21%).
The highest age-adjusted IR was among Asian American patients (41.2 per 100,000 PY), followed by Hispanic/Latino patients (37.3 per 100,000 PY), those reporting other or multiple races (31.1 per 100,000), Black patients (29.6 per 100,000 PY), and White patients (18.7 per 100,000 PY).
The highest age-adjusted prevalence was among Hispanic/Latino patients (0.29%), followed by Asian American patients (0.27%), those reporting other or multiple races (0.24%), Black patients (0.22%), and White patients (0.13%).

The findings “may support improving awareness of vitiligo disease burden in medical and public sectors, informing research agendas, improving enrollment of racial and ethnic minority populations in trials, and developing health policies,” the authors write.

Amit Garg, MD, a dermatologist with Northwell Health, New Hyde Park, New York, led the research. The study was published July 19, 2023, in JAMA Dermatology.

The analysis only captured patients who sought care in health systems included in the database, and there was the potential for underreporting, “since not all patients with vitiligo seek care.”

Garg reported being an advisor for and receiving honoraria from many pharmaceutical companies. He has also received research grants from AbbVie, UCB, the National Psoriasis Foundation, and the CHORD COUSIN Collaboration.

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