RESEARCH - Association between vitiligo and spondyloarthritis

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Journal of Rheumatology

February 2001

Association Between Vitiligo and Spondyloarthritis

ABSTRACT.

Objective. To establish if spondyloarthritis (SpA) and vitiligo occur

together more frequently than by chance.

Methods. All consecutive patients with SpA seen in a 6 month period were

evaluated for vitiligo by an experienced dermatologist. The control group

included the 2 consecutive patients without SpA seen after each patient with

SpA.

Results. Two hundred thirty-four patients with SpA (131 men, 103 women; mean

age 59 ± 18.3 yrs) were seen in the study period. Of these, 43 had

ankylosing spondylitis (AS), 112 psoriatic arthritis (PsA), 14 SpA

associated with inflammatory bowel disease, 64 undifferentiated SpA, and one

reactive arthritis. The 468 control patients (360 women, 108 men; mean age

68.5 ± 2 yrs) had various degenerative and inflammatory rheumatic diseases.

Eight (3.4%) patients out of 234 with SpA had type A vitiligo. In the

control group, 5 (1.06%) out of 468 had type A vitiligo. The difference was

statistically significant (p < 0.05). Of the 8 patients with coexisting

vitiligo and SpA, 4 had PsA, 2 primary AS, one AS associated with Crohn's

disease, and one undifferentiated SpA. Of the 5 patients with vitiligo in

the control group, one had rheumatoid arthritis, one Sjögren's syndrome, one

palindromic rheumatism, one crystal arthropathy, and one osteoarthritis.

Conclusion. Our results suggest that vitiligo and SpA do not coexist by

chance and that vitiligo should be included in the list of diseases

associated with SpA. (J Rheumatol 2001;28:313-4)

http://www.jrheum.com/abstracts/abstracts01/313.html

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