STUDY TO DETERMINE THE EFFECT OF VITILIGO ON PATIENTS QUALITY OF LIFE

Background: Vitiligo has a significant impact on quality of life (QOL) in a society like ours with pigmented skin. The Dermatological Quality of Life Index (DLQI) is a simple and practical tool that can be used to study the impact of any disease on quality of life. Aims: To assess the impact of vitiligo on our patients' quality of life using DLQI and to associate the DLQI score with age, gender, marital status and sites of occurrence. Place and Duration: In the Dermatology department of Mayo Hospital, Lahore for one-year duration from April 2019 to April 2020. Patients and methods: 100 patients (52 women and 48 men) with vitiligo were enrolled in the study. Using ten DLQI entries translated into Urdu, patients were asked to indicate how this had affected their lives during the previous week. Results: The mean DLQI score was 9.56, ranging from 0 to 29. The difference between the mean DLQI score for men (8.17) and women (10.85) was statistically significant. Young women (n = 40) had a mean DLQI score of 11.2. Unmarried women (n = 16) had a greater impairment in quality of life (mean DLQI score = 8.28). Patients with exposed body parts assessed (mean DLQI score = 11.03) higher than patients with covered body disease. Conclusions: Vitiligo has a greater effect on QOL in young and unmarried women with exposed body parts. Keywords: Vitiligo, DLQI, quality of life