Beliefs and perceptions of Arab vitiligo patients regarding their condition

Background Patients' beliefs about their illness can result in positive and/or negative implications for the management of their disease. To examine the beliefs held by vitiligo patients about their condition and to explore the potential factors that might influence such beliefs. Methods The illness perception questionnaire (IPQ) was translated into the particular regional language (Arabic) and administered to adult vitiligo patients visiting our Dermatology Department, from 2006 to 2008. Demographic and illness details were obtained. Results We recruited 164 vitiligo patients (91 male subjects). The mean age was 27 years (SD = 13, range 15-57 years). It was believed that stress, altered immunity, and heredity were the cause of vitiligo by 33%, 26%, and 24% of the respondents respectively. Eighty-four percent and 28% believed in fate and evil eye as a cause of their illness respectively. Forty-two percent believed that their illness had a major effect on their lives and 44% believed that vitiligo had strongly affected the way others see them. For both beliefs, this was independent of the gender. Thirty-seven percent reported that they do not understand their illness. Six percent believed that their disease was contagious while 12% were not sure. Fifty-four and 57% reported feeling depressed and anxious respectively, because of their disease. This was more common in female patients (P = 0.019 and 0.031 respectively). Conclusion Misconceptions and negative attitudes are widespread among vitiligo patients. The lack of disease-related understanding and the existence of anxiety and depression require targeted health education and psychosocial support.