Evaluation of the relationship between clinicoepidemiological features of melasma and the level of involvement on wood’s lamp Examination

Background: Melasma is a common acquired hyperpigmentationdisorder often appearing on the face of young women. Melasmais classified into four groups based on Wood’s lamp examination:epidermal, dermal, mixed, and indeterminate. The goal of this studywas to evaluate the relationship between clinicoepidemiologicalcharacteristics of melasma and the level of involvement underWood’s lamp examination.Method: In a cross sectional study, 50 melasma patients whowere visited at the dermatology clinic of Imam Reza Hospitalfrom March 2010 to September 2011 were studied. The levelof melasma involvement in all patients was determined usinga Wood’s lamp, and the patients’ information such as age,occupation, location of melasma, marital status, pregnancy, oralcontraceptive pill consumption and Fitzpatrick skin type wascollected in a questionnaire.Result: In single patients, dermal involvement and in marriedpatients, epidermal involvement was more common. Involvementwas more frequently dermal in jobs with exposure to sun andmore epidermal in indoor jobs. In the malar region, epidermalinvolvement was more common. In patients with a history ofpregnancy, epidermal involvement was more prevalent as well,while in the participants without a history of pregnancy, dermalinvolvement was more frequent. In the pregnant patients withmelasma, epidermal involvement was more frequent. In patientswithout a family history of melasma, epidermal involvement wasmore frequently observed than the other two levels of involvement.Conclusion: Based on the findings of this study, melasma in caseswith the involvement of the malar region, starting in pregnancy,in patients without a family history of melasma, and in theindividuals who have indoor occupations is most likely to beepidermal and may have a better response to treatment. On theother hand, melasma in single persons and in those who haveoutdoor occupations and are exposed to sun light is mostly dermalwith a worse response to treatment according to previous studies.