The Vitiligo in Senegal

The aim of our study was to determine the epidemiological and clinical aspects of vitiligo in the largest dermatology department of Senegal. A cross-sectional and descriptive study in a period of 5 months was performed covering all the vitiligo cases. Fifty patients were identified (26 women and 24 men). The mean age was 26.5 years. A family history of vitiligo was found in 11 cases and a psychoaffective disturbance in 6 cases. The clinical forms distinguished were generalized vitiligo ( n = 33), localized vitiligo ( n = 16), vitiligo universalis ( n = 4), and segmental vitiligo ( n = 1). The Koebner phenomenon was found in 7 cases. Associated diseases were atopic dermatitis ( n = 2), contact dermatitis ( n = 1), diabetes ( n = 1), and Graves' disease ( n = 1). The disgraceful character of Vitiligo was the predominance of generalized forms and the elective localization in sun-exposed areas. The family character, the psychoaffective disturbances, the Koebner phenomenon increased by the lifestyle and the itching dermatosis were the aggravating factors.