Temperament and character features in vitiligo patients

Vitiligo is an acquired skin disease of unknown etyology, which can be seen at any age, causing depigmented, milk-white areas with sharp borders, varying in size and amount, due to melanocyte loss.Vitiligo patients have low self respect, rage, fear of rejection and they feel discriminated, stigmatized and disgraced. Although the disease does not cause a physical discomfort, it affects appearance and causes cosmetic problems.Effect of the disease on patients is variant. Natural course of the disease differs according to demographic features and character of the patient as well as the approach of the society to the patient.The aim of this study is to compare vitiligo patients with the control group to establish how the disease affects the patients? quality of life and which temper and character features do these patients have.A total of 49 patients, 22 female and 27 male, aged 18 and older, who had applied to Celal Bayar University Hafsa Sultan Hospital Dermatology outpatient clinic between April 2011 and September 2012 and clinically and with Wood lamp examination diagnosed as vitiligo and 29 female and 17 male healthy voluntary subjects were included in the study.Patients? disease duration, lesions? location and visibility, treatment modality and history, existance of active lesions and wheather the patients were disturbed by their looks or not was recorded. Subjects? age, sex, marital status, educational level, job, family history of vitiligo, previous psychiatric illness, history of psychiatric treatment, duration and frequency of alcohol and cigarette use were also recorded. Anxiety Depression İndex-3 (ADI-3), DLQI and Temperament and Character İnventory (TCI) measures were evaluated.78In our study, mean DLQI of the patients was 4.89± 4.27, and the control group was 1.40± 2.49. Life qualities of vitiligo patients was mildly affected.Patients and the control group did not differ in terms of age, sex and marital status distribution (p>0.05). Subjects with educational levels of highschool or lower were mainly in the patient group (p: 0.00). Subjects working in more stressful jobs were mainly in the vitiligo group (p:0.02). Family history of vitiligo was more often among the patients (p:0.01).ADI-3 and total DLQI scores were higher in the patient group. Looking for novelty was less in the patient group compared to the controls. Within the patient group, persistance score was higher in married patients compared to singles (p:0.01). Patients with lesions on visible sites or with a history of psychiatric illness and patients who are uncomfortable with their looks had lower life qualities. ADI-3 (p:0.01) and looking for novelty scores (p:0.02) were lower and cooperativeness score (p:0.05) was higher in the group receiving systemic therapy compared with the group that is not receiving any systemic therapy. When patients were grouped according to alcohol and cigarette consume, difference in ADI-3, Temperament and Character Inventory subgroups and DLQI scores was not statistically significant (p>0.05).Our study is the first to evaluate temperament and charachter in vitiligo patients, and it emphasizes that these patients do not only require dermatological approach, they should also be evaluated and treated psychologically.