Implication of serum zinc level with duration and clinical type of vitiligo

Abstract

Background: Vitiligo is a common dermatological disorder characterized by acquired, idiopathic, progressive, hypomelanosis of the skin and hair, with total absence of melanocytes microscopically.

Objective: The study was conducted to find out the relationship between serum zinc level and clinical spectrum of vitiligo.

Methods: A cross sectional study conducted in the departmenl of Dermatology and Venereology and department of Biochemistry, Bang­abandbu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), Dhaka, Bangladesh and the period of study was from May 2010 to October 2011.

Results: The mean difference of sernm zinc level in male and female of both groups were significant (p<0.05) but the mean serum zinc level was not significantly different (p>0.05) among various clinical types ofvitiligo. ln case oflocalized vitiligo mean serum zinc level was 755.3 ± 288.6, in case of acrofacial viriligo mean serum zinc level was 821.4 ± 259.6 and in case of generalized vitiligo mean sernm zinc level was 771.6 ± 222.2. The difference of mean sernm zinc level observed between family history positive and negative group were not statistically significant (p>0.05). The difference of mean senun zinc level was also not statistically significant (p>0.05) among <1 year, 1-10 years and 11-20 years duration groups of vitiligo patients. A negative correlation (r = -0.227) was observed between duration of symptom with senun zinc level in this study.

Conclusion: This study showed low level of serum zinc in vitiligo patients. Large-scale studies are needed to confirm these findings and multicenter study should be carried out to reveal the accurate pattern of zinc status in vitiligo.