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Meta-Analysis
. 2020 Nov 10;15(11):e0241445.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0241445. eCollection 2020.

Vitiligo and anxiety: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Assiya Kussainova  1 , Laura Kassym  2 , Almira Akhmetova  1 , Natalya Glushkova  3 , Ulugbek Sabirov  4 , Saltanat Adilgozhina  5 , Raikhan Tuleutayeva  6 , Yuliya Semenova  7
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Vitiligo and anxiety: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Assiya Kussainova et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Background: Vitiligo is an acquired depigmenting skin disease which is often accompanied by mental distress. There are numerous studies dedicated to local and global prevalence of depression in patients with vitiligo but anxiety has not been recognized as a major mental problem within named population. We aimed to evaluate the prevalence of anxiety among patients with vitiligo from different countries and to compare it with patients suffering from eczema, psoriasis, and acne.

Methods: In November 2019, we conducted a systematic search for observational studies that examined the prevalence of anxiety in vitiligo patients. Fifteen studies comprising 1176 patients with vitiligo were included to our systematic review.

Results: The general prevalence of anxiety among vitiligo patients was equal to 35.8%. Statistically significant difference in anxiety rates was found among female and male patients (47.32% vs 42.4%) (P = 0.03), but the clinical relevance of this issue remains arguable. In addition, the pooled odds ratio among vitiligo and non-vitiligo patients did not indicate a statistical significance among patients coming from different continents.

Conclusions: The pooled prevalence of anxiety among vitiligo patients worldwide was comparable to other severe skin disorders. This finding accentuates the necessity of anxiety awareness in management of patients with skin diseases.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Flow diagram of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) presenting the process of search and selection of studies on prevalence of anxiety among vitiligo patients.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Prevalence of anxiety compared between vitiligo patients and non-vitiligo groups (95% CI: = 95% Confidence Interval; M-H, Mantel-Haenszel Method).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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