Public's perception and knowledge about psychosocial issues faced by vitiligo patients

Background: Decreased pigmentation of the skin or vitiligo is one of the common manifestations found in general population and slightly more prevalent in Asia especially India and Pakistan. Studies concerning myths regarding vitiligo; its association with other illnesses and its consequences can be found in previous literature but still an obvious gap in stats can be observed regarding some other aspects of vitiligo. Hence, the main objective of this study is to assess the general population's perceptions and knowledge regarding psychosocial effects of vitiligo on their quality of life.
Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Karachi among 300 participants for two months i.e. from August 2019 to September 2019. Participants were aged between 18 to 60 years; were randomly and equally divided into two groups on the basis of being related to Medicine field or not. Respondents were approached once informed consent was obtained and were interviewed via self-designed questionnaire. Questions related to demographics, how the disease might affect their psychological and social life and knowledge about vitiligo were inquired. Questionnaires were analyzed using the Statistical Program for Social Sciences (SPSS 22).
Results: Of the 300 respondents, females had slight upper hand in number i.e. 51.5%. The overall mean age was 22± 5.4 years with bulk of individual were aware of the term vitiligo (p-value <0.001). Friends and family members were the main source of knowledge for most. Around fifty percent of the participants considered it as generalized skin disease while remaining also agreed to it acro-facial (16%) and segmental (3%) distribution. Significant association were also noted for various aspects including involved body sites, its social impact, therapeutic measures and routine activities.
Conclusion: The findings of the study reflected a serious lack of knowledge among masses regarding Vitiligo. Psychological, psychosocial, social and personal factors in this regard need to be addressed effectively in order to overcome myths and social discriminations. Dermatologists experience should be taken into consideration in this regard. We look forward this survey as a first step in order to bring attention towards a much neglected skin condition.