Knowledge, beliefs, and perceptions of Turkish vitiligo patients regarding their condition*

BACKGROUND: Vitiligo is an acquired pigmentary skin disorder that affects 0.5% to 2.0% of the population. OBJECTIVE: Patients' knowledge, opinions, and attitudes about vitiligo were evaluated. METHODS: The team conducted a cross-sectional, descriptive, prospective study between June 2014 and May 2015. The study included 100 patients aged over 12 years who were diagnosed with vitiligo. A questionnaire including items on knowledge, opinions, and beliefs about vitiligo and the Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ) were filled out by the patients, and the results were analyzed. RESULTS: In total, 100 (58 female, 42 male) patients were included in the study. Of them, 74% knew the name of their disease, 90% thought that vitiligo was not contagious, 48% reported that they obtained information on the disease from a doctor, and 69% believed they had adequate information on vitiligo. Eighty percent reported no negative effects from vitiligo on relationships with friends or family. It was believed that stress, excessive sun exposure, and heredity were causes of vitiligo, according to 84%, 37%, and 22% of the patients, respectively. Thirty-six patients (36%) believed that their illness was a serious disease and 35% deemed that it did not have a major impact on their lives. CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that vitiligo patients were generally highly aware of their condition. The disease did not negatively affect patient opinions or attitudes about vitiligo. The authors believe that improving patient-physician communication will impact positively on the course of the disease.