Heal House Vitiligo Research 41 · Original Article
Can vitiligo phototherapy also benefit heart and brain vessel health?
Both cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events are decreased following long-term narrowband ultraviolet B phototherapy in patients with vitiligo: a propensity score matching analysis
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In short
In vitiligo patients who received more than 100 sessions of phototherapy over a long period, the risk of developing conditions such as myocardial infarction or stroke was about 36% lower.
Patients who have undergone phototherapy for a long time often ask, "Is it really okay for my body to keep being exposed to light?" Phototherapy is a standard treatment that has been used for vitiligo for a long time. However, its effects on the whole body beyond the skin after many years of use have not been well understood. So I looked into 11 years of nationwide health insurance data. I wanted to see whether vitiligo patients who had undergone long-term phototherapy experienced more or fewer heart and brain vessel diseases.
Q1 How Was Cardiovascular Risk Compared?
We compared patients who received 100 or more sessions of phototherapy with those who received fewer than 3 sessions (almost none). The groups were 3,229 and 9,687 patients, respectively. We matched them in a 1:3 ratio, adjusting for age, sex, insurance type, and underlying conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia. This helps reduce the influence of factors other than receiving phototherapy on the results. We then followed both groups over several years to see how often myocardial infarction and stroke occurred.
Q2 What Were the Results?
Those who had received long-term phototherapy actually had fewer events. When heart and brain vessel diseases were combined, the risk was about 36% lower. Broken down, the risk for heart conditions (ischemic heart disease, myocardial infarction) was about 32% lower, and for brain vessel conditions (cerebral infarction, cerebral hemorrhage) about 40% lower. Notably, the reduction was consistent across both the heart and brain, not skewed toward one side.
Risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events in the phototherapy group (compared to the non-treatment group)
| Item | Hazard ratio (HR) | In simple terms |
|---|---|---|
| All cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events | 0.637 | About 36% lower |
| Cardiovascular events (ischemic heart disease, myocardial infarction) | 0.682 | About 32% lower |
| Cerebrovascular events (cerebral infarction, cerebral hemorrhage) | 0.601 | About 40% lower |
Q3 Why Might Phototherapy Also Benefit Blood Vessels?
It is difficult to determine the exact reason from this study alone, but there are a few plausible explanations. Exposure to UVB triggers the production of vitamin D in the skin. It also releases substances that dilate blood vessels, which can benefit blood pressure and vascular health. Phototherapy may also help reduce excessive inflammatory responses in the body, potentially protecting blood vessels. However, this is an association observed in the study, not a confirmed cause-and-effect relationship, so further research is needed.
Closing remarks
Until now, the safety of phototherapy has mainly been discussed in terms of the skin only. This study broadens the perspective to the whole body. Long-term phototherapy was associated with a lower risk of heart and brain vessel diseases, rather than posing harm. This provides evidence to recommend phototherapy with confidence to those who are hesitant. Of course, phototherapy should not be regarded as a "cardiovascular prevention drug," so please continue to manage basics like blood pressure and blood sugar.
