Metabolic Syndrome in Early Onset Versus Late Onset Vitiligo

This study aims at detection of incidence of metabolic syndrome in vitiligo patients and possible contribution of the age of onset of the disease. This involves detection of waist circumference, body mass index, index of central obesity, systolic and diastolic arterial blood pressure, fasting blood sugar, high density lipoproteins and triglycerides, in addition to insulin resistance as Homeostatic Model Assessment- insulin resisitance (HOMA-IR) and serum leptin in vitiligo patients. The outcomes will be correlated to extent/ severity/duration/ activity of vitiligo as well as to the age of onset. This is assumed to be of profound impact on vitiligo patients by properly assessing these patients for associated metabolic risk factors and helping prevent such metabolic derangements by detection of possible contributing factors such as insulin resistance and high serum adipokines as leptin.

Since there is temporal relation between nutrition, metabolic derangements and skin diseases where nutritional deficiencies as minerals, vitamins and fatty acids can lead to cutaneous manifestations and , on the other hand; skin diseases could contribute to metabolic derangements and nutritional deficiencies, the investigator's study will focus on nutrition and dietary habits and there possible contribution to any associated metabolic risk in vitiligo patients.

This is likely to open new horizons in the management of vitiligo, possibly through control of metabolic syndrome risk factors and insulin resistance as well as revealing possible temporal relation to dietary habits that are overlooked in vitiligo patients.