Abstract: 【Abstract】 Objective To investigate clinical features of vulvar lichen simplex chronicus （VLSC）. Methods Clinical data were collected from 137 VLSC patients who visited a Vulvar Clinic in the Department of Dermatology, Beijing Hospital from 2017 to 2018, and analyzed retrospectively. Non-normally distributed measurement data （age and disease duration） were described as median （P25, P75）, and analyzed by using rank sum test, and enumeration data were compared by using chi-square test. Results Among the 137 patients with VLSC, the age at onset was 32.0 （25.5, 40.0） years, and the disease duration was 36.0 （15.0, 72.0） months. Thirty-two （23.4%） patients had a history of atopic diseases, and the age at onset of VLSC was significantly lower in these patients with a history of atopic diseases （29.5 ［25.0, 35.8］ years） than in those without a history of atopic diseases （33.0 ［27.0, 41.0］ years, Z = 2.03, P = 0.042）. The most frequently involved site was the labia majora （130/137, 94.9%）, and the labia minora was rarely involved （13/137, 9.5%）. Bilateral lesions were observed in 103 （75.2%） patients, and hypopigmentation occurred in 8 （5.8%） patients. All the patients experienced itching to different extents, including moderate itching in 44 （32.1%） cases and severe itching in 80 （58.4%）. The ratio of patients with severe itching to those with disease duration > 2 years （68.1%） was significantly higher than that of patients with severe itching to those with disease duration < 2 years （47.7%, χ2 = 5.830, P = 0.016）. Patients reported that local wetness and sweating （55 cases, 40.1%）, spicy diet （41 cases, 29.9%） and mental stress （36 cases, 26.3%） could aggravate itching. Conclusions VLSC commonly occurs in patients aged 20 - 39 years, and atopic predisposition may be an important factor for VLSC. VLSC mostly involves bilateral labia majora, and the longer the disease duration, the more severe the itching.

Key words: Neurodermatitis, Vulvar diseases, Pruritus, Femininity, Hypopigmentation, Local wetness