Vitiligo in Children: A Birds Eye View

Vitiligo in children is a distinct subset of vitiligo and differs from adult vitiligo. Characteristic features include family history of autoimmune or endocrine disease, higher incidence of segmental vitiligo, development of early or premature graying, increased incidence of autoantibodies and poor response to topical PUVA. The exact prevalence of vitiligo in children varies between 0.1-4% of the world population and seems to be higher in India than in other countries and it occurs more frequently in females. Around 12% to 35% of pediatric vitiligo patients have family members with the disease. The most common type of vitiligo in pediatric patients is vitiligo vulgaris, representing 78% of cases. The most commonly associated autoimmune disease is thyroiditis. Phototherapy and topical corticosteroids are the most commonly used treatments for adult vitiligo but are less useful in the pediatric population.