Background: Vitiligo has a devastating psychosocial effect. The cultural traditions of Saudi society are quite different compared with the western world. Hence, a quality of life study using a different questionnaire suitable to the cultural traditions of the society is necessary to measure qualify of life in vitiligo patients.
Objective: This study was conducted to assess the quality of life (QOL) in Saudi vitiligo patients and their family.
Materials and methods: A prospective cross-sectional study at National Center for Vitiligo and Psoriasis, Saudi Arabia. A validated Arabic questionnaire of 41 questions was developed and utilized specifically for this study. Arabic language instrument was distributed to 260 vitiligo patients. Scores were compared in relation to demographic, clinical, and social variables in 4 dimensions of scale (relationship with colleagues, family relationship, social relationship, and self respect).
Results: Overall score QOL was 17.1. Mean score for males was 11.1, whereas that for females was 23.9 (P < 0.05). Females scored significantly higher in all the 4 dimensions. Patients with exposed disease lesions scored significantly higher than those with unexposed lesions 5 vs 3.4 (P < 0.05).
Conclusion: The overall score of QOL in vitiligo is relatively high, indicating a negative impact of the disease on QOL. QOL in women is significantly more affected than in men.
Keywords: Saudi Arabia; Vitiligo; culture; ethnicity; quality of life; relationships; self-respect.