Nail Abnormalities in Patients with Vitiligo
August 2016
in “
Anais brasileiros de dermatologia/Anais Brasileiros de Dermatologia
”
Studysummary This study found that nail abnormalities, particularly longitudinal ridging, were more frequent in vitiligo patients (78%) compared to healthy controls (55%). Our plain-language summary of this paper — not a Tressless recommendation.
This study documented the frequency and clinical presentation of nail abnormalities in 100 vitiligo patients compared to 100 healthy subjects. Nail abnormalities were significantly more prevalent in vitiligo patients (78%) than in controls (55%) (p=0.001). The most common abnormalities in vitiligo patients were longitudinal ridging (42%) and leukonychia. The study concluded that systematic examination of nails in vitiligo patients is useful due to the high prevalence of abnormalities, though the causes require further investigation.