Thyroid Autoimmunity in Vitiligo: A Case- Control Study

IntroductionThere is scanty evidence regarding the role of autoimmunity in vitiligo, especially in the Asian population. Moreover, the existing studies reported conflicting results. This prompted the investigators to identify the association of thyroid autoimmunity with vitiligo by employing a case-control design in this setting.MethodologyThe present study was a hospital-based case-control study conducted in one of the tertiary care hospitals of North India. We recruited 30 subjects aged 16-60 years with vitiligo attending the skin and venereal diseases outpatient department. The subjects attending the general medicine outpatient department without having a diagnosis of vitiligo were considered for the control group. Thyroid hormones (FT3 and FT4), thyroid -stimulating hormones, anti-thyroid peroxidase (anti-TPO) antibodies, and anti-thyroglobulin (anti-TG) antibodies were the primary investigations performed among the study subjects.ResultsThe mean age of the study subjects was 31.3 (SD: 13.3) years. Both the case and control groups were comparable based on selected socio-demographic variables (p > 0.05). There was a statistically significant difference in terms of mean anti-TPO and anti-TG values between the case and control groups in which subjects with vitiligo reported significantly higher values (p < 0.05).ConclusionOur study reported a significant elevation in the mean values of the thyroid antibodies (anti-TG and anti-TPO antibodies) in vitiligo subjects compared to control subjects in this setting. Hence, screening for autoimmune thyroid diseases among patients with vitiligo is suggested for the early detection and the initiation of appropriate intervention.