Quality of life, depression, and anxiety in Turkish children with vitiligo and their parents

BACKGROUND: Vitiligo is a chronic skin condition among psychocutaneous diseases that significantly affect psychiatric well-being of patients, social interactions, and overall quality of life. Only a limited number of studies about psychiatric well-being and quality of life in children with vitiligo and their parents are available.

AIMS: With this study, we aimed to assess anxiety, depression, and quality of life in children diagnosed with vitiligo and their parents.

METHODS AND MATERIAL: Forty-one vitiligo patients aged 9–16 years 30 healthy controls along with their parents were asked to fill out self-report forms that assessed quality of life (Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory – Child Form; PedsQL-C and Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory – Parent Form; PedsQL-P), anxiety (State–Trait Anxiety Inventory – STAI-C for children and Beck Anxiety Inventory – BAI for parents), and depression (Children’s Depression Inventory – CDI and Beck Depression Inventory – BDI for parents).

RESULTS: Between groups, significant differences were found in PedsQL-C subscales measuring school functioning, psychosocial health, and overall quality of life. Regarding PedsQL-P scores, there was a significant difference in physical functioning, social functioning, and overall quality of life. No statistical significance was found between groups regarding CDI and STAI-C scores. There was a significant difference in BDI, with higher scores in parents of children with vitiligo.

CONCLUSIONS: We believe measuring life quality with standardized instruments and techniques would be important in the assessment of the patient to evaluate the efficacy of treatment, specifically in chronic disorders. Further studies addressing these issues, especially in children, adolescents, and their parents are warranted.