FAQI have vitiligo: will my children have vitiligo, too?

FAQ

Children born to parents who both have the disorder are more likely to develop vitiligo. However, most children will not get vitiligo even if one parent has it. In children with focal and segmental vitiligo, there is often no family history of vitiligo or other autoimmune disorders.

The frequency of vitiligo among first degree relatives in white, Indo - Pakistani, and Hispanic populations is 7.1%, 6.1%, and 4.8%, respectively. Identical twins with identical DNA have only a 23% chance of developing vitiligo, suggesting a significant non-genetic component in the disease.

In the recent VALIANT study (2022), almost three-fifths of patients (57%) noted a family history of vitiligo. It was most common among patients with the high percentage of body surface area affected by vitiligo, darker skin types, and facial lesions.

FAQOther Questions

  • Shall I take vitamin D for my vitiligo?

    In Brief Vitamin D plays a central role in the prevention of different inflammatory and chronic diseases. Consuming 1,000–4,000 IU (25–100 mcg) of vitamin D3 daily should be id...

  • What's better: laser or phototherapy?

    In a recent study researchers assessed effect and safety of different laser and phototherapy treatments, such as excimer laser/light, narrowband UVB, UVA and PUVA. No significa...

  • Can chemicals cause vitiligo?

    It’s important to remember there are multiple factors involved in vitiligo onset, including genetic predisposition, living and working environments, and exposure to certain chem...