Abstract:

Objective To investigate the prevalence of vitiligo in China through a multi-center and large-population epidemiological survey. Methods A community-based survey was conducted in 6 cities from 6 provinces. Cluster sampling method was used. Subjects were required to fulfill the self-report questionnaires and received physical examination by dermatologists. EpiData and SPSS11.5 were utilized for statistical analysis. Results Totally, 19 974 patients participated in this study, and 17 345 valid questionnaires were retrieved with a return rate of 86.84%. Of them, 122 were found to have vitiligo. The prevalence and standardized prevalence of vitiligo was 0.70% and 0.56% in all patients, 0.95% （75） and 0.69% in male patients and 0.50% （47） and 0.45% in female patients, respectively. A significant elevation was observed in the prevalence of vitiligo in males than in females （P < 0.01）. The prevalence of vitiligo was increased with age and peaked in patients aging from 60 to 69 years and those over 70 years. The age at onset of vitiligo varied from 0 to 19 years in 21.85% of these patients, from 20 to 49 years in 47.05%. The most common type was focal vitiligo, which accounted for 36.06%, while the rarest type was segmental type（2.46%）. The positivity rate of family history of vitiligo was 9.84% in patients and 1.31% in community population （P < 0.01）. About 31.97% of the patients complained of negative influence of vitiligo on quality of life. Conclusions The standardized prevalence of vitiligo is 0.56% in 6 provinces from China. Males seem to have a higher prevalence of vitiligo than females.

Key words: vitiligo, survey, prevalence, China mainland