Evaluating of life quality in Iranian patients with vitiligo using generic and special questionnaires

Background: vitiligo is a common acquired pigmentary skin disease that can adversely affect the patients’ quality of life (qol).objectives: the aim of this study was to evaluate the qol in patients with vitiligo.patients and methods: this study included 70 patients with vitiligo. all the patients filled out two questionnaires: short form 36 (sf-36) and dermatology life quality index (dlqi). data were compiled and analyzed by spss 17.results: the mean score of patients with vitiligo on dlqi scale was 8.40 ± 5.76 (rang,0-23). although males scores on sf-36 scale was higher than females,the difference was not statistically significant (anova,p = 0.68). with regard to age,the mean total score of sf-36 indicated insignificant differences among age groups (anova,p = 0.456). there was a significant reverse correlation between the scores of different dimensions of qol obtained from the study questionnaires.conclusions: the study findings showed that vitiligo has a significant effect on the patients’ qol. it seems that psychotherapy should be considered in the treatment of vitiligo. © 2014,shiraz university of medical sciences; published by docs.