Developer site: The content shown here is test data.

MyEClinic
MyEClinic
Health Dictionary AI Health Chat Find an Online Doctor
A serene Zen garden with raked sand and smooth stones, symbolising clarity and calm

Health Dictionary

Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions — written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.

Back to skin conditions

Vitiligo epidemiology and demographics

Introduction

Overview

Overview

Autoimmune diseases and a family history of vitiligo are considered risk factors for developing this condition. A patient that has a relative with vitiligo has an 18 fold increased risk of developing the disease and having an earlier onset of the disease.

Epidemiology

Epidemiology

Prevalence

  • The prevalence of vitiligo is 1,000/100,000 (1%) of the population.
  • The prevalence varies from 100/100,000 (0.1%) up to more than 2,000/100,000 (2%) depending upon the country and age group.[1]
  • A higher prevalence has been observed in India, Romania, Uzbekistan and China.[2]

Age

  • 50% of patients with vitiligo are diagnosed before the age of 20. [3]

Gender

  • While the majority of studies state that both sexes are equally affected,[4] some studies report a higher incidence of vitiligo in young women.[5][6]
  • Females are diagnosed at a younger age than men.

Race

  • There is no difference in the prevalence among races.
  • The disease is more often noticed in dark skin patients, and may have a greater psychological impact in dark skin patients.
References

References

  1. ↑ Christian Kruger & Karin Uta Schallreuter (2012). “A review of the worldwide prevalence of vitiligo in children/adolescents and adults”. International journal of dermatology. 51 (10): 1206–1212. doi:10.1111/j.1365-4632.2011.05377.x. PMID 22458952. Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  2. ↑ Christian Kruger & Karin Uta Schallreuter (2012). “A review of the worldwide prevalence of vitiligo in children/adolescents and adults”. International journal of dermatology. 51 (10): 1206–1212. doi:10.1111/j.1365-4632.2011.05377.x. PMID 22458952. Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  3. ↑ Virendra N. Sehgal & Govind Srivastava (2007). “Vitiligo: compendium of clinico-epidemiological features”. Indian journal of dermatology, venereology and leprology. 73 (3): 149–156. PMID 17558045. Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  4. ↑ Virendra N. Sehgal & Govind Srivastava (2007). “Vitiligo: compendium of clinico-epidemiological features”. Indian journal of dermatology, venereology and leprology. 73 (3): 149–156. PMID 17558045. Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  5. ↑ Asem Alkhateeb, Pamela R. Fain, Anthony Thody, Dorothy C. Bennett & Richard A. Spritz (2003). “Epidemiology of vitiligo and associated autoimmune diseases in Caucasian probands and their families”. Pigment cell research / sponsored by the European Society for Pigment Cell Research and the International Pigment Cell Society. 16 (3): 208–214. PMID 12753387. Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  6. ↑ Kyriakos P. Kyriakis, Ioulios Palamaras, Efrosyni Tsele, Charalambos Michailides & Sofia Terzoudi (2009). “Case detection rates of vitiligo by gender and age”. International journal of dermatology. 48 (3): 328–329. doi:10.1111/j.1365-4632.2009.03770.x. PMID 19261030. Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Alejandro Lemor, M.D. [2]