Heal House Vitiligo Research 66 · Original Article
Does vitiligo affect overall life expectancy?
All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality among Patients with Vitiligo: A Nationwide Population-Based Study in Korea
Last reviewed
In short
Lifespan was not shortened. Rather, the risk of death was slightly lower. In a study of about 100,000 patients in Korea, it was about 25% lower than in people without vitiligo.
After seeing patients for a long time, there is a question they carefully bring up. Watching white patches spread, they worry, "Could this disease shorten my life?" Since vitiligo is an autoimmune condition, such anxiety is natural. I wanted to answer that question with evidence. So I compared the actual mortality risk of vitiligo patients using nationwide data.
Q1 Does vitiligo affect life expectancy?
It did not shorten life expectancy. In fact, the mortality risk was lower. We linked National Health Insurance data with death registration records. We then compared 107,424 people with vitiligo with a control group of 537,120 people matched on factors such as age and sex. The mortality risk for people with vitiligo was about 25% lower, which means the risk was lower by roughly one in four. The actual proportion of people who died was also lower in the vitiligo group. Because this result comes from following such a large number of people over a long period, it is unlikely to be due to chance.
Mortality risk of vitiligo patients (vs. control group)
| Item | Value | In simple terms |
|---|---|---|
| Overall mortality hazard ratio (HR) | 0.75 | Mortality risk about 25% lower (about one in four) |
| Vitiligo group mortality rate | 34.8 per 10,000 person-years | About 35 per 10,000 people per year |
| Control group mortality rate | 45.3 per 10,000 person-years | About 45 under the same conditions |
Q2 Why did these results occur?
It is possible that the active immune response characteristic of vitiligo also works to protect the body. Indeed, mortality was lower in the vitiligo group for nearly all major causes, including infectious diseases, cancer, blood disorders, endocrine diseases, neurological diseases, cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, and kidney and urinary tract diseases. The sensitive immune system that attacks pigment cells may act as an unexpected shield, also filtering out other harmful threats to the body. However, this is a cautious interpretation. This study simply observed and compared the two groups. It is difficult to say that vitiligo is the 'cause' of lower mortality risk.
Closing remarks
To those who cautiously ask, "This disease doesn't shorten my life, does it?" we can now provide an answer based on data. Life expectancy is not shortened. Rather, the mortality risk was slightly lower. However, this is the average tendency of many people. Please be sure to receive regular checkups appropriate for your age.
