Association between vitiligo and diabetes mellitus: a case control study

Background: Vitiligo is a common acquired disorder of the skin. The disease is characterized by depigmented macules and patches on the skin. Autoimmunity has a crucial role in the pathogenesis of the vitiligo. Vitiligo is frequently associated with different autoimmune diseases such as thyroid abnormalities and diabetes. This study aimed to evaluate the association between vitiligo and diabetes mellitus. Method: This case-control study was conducted on 70 patients with established vitiligo disorder and 70 non vitiligo individuals as the control group. In the case group, we performed two tests, fasting blood sugar (FBS) and oral glucose oral tolerance test (OGTT), while only FBS was checked in the control group. Result: The results of our study showed that out of 70 people in the case group, 18 (25.71%) had impaired FBS while only 4 (5.7%) had impaired GTT3. Statistical analysis showed p-value=0.015 which indicated a significant difference in impaired FBS between case and control groups. We had half and 1 hour GTT data (GTT1 and GTT2) and all patients with impaired GTT1 (4 individuals) and GTT2 (5 individuals) were females with a significant difference (P-value = 0.021 and 0.017, respectively). Conclusion: Periodical laboratory investigation for diabetes mellitus in vitiligo patients, particularly in females, seems to be necessary.