Prevailing Misconceptions of Vitiligo among Saudi School Children

Objectives: To identify the prevailing myths and misconception about vitiligo among the school students in Qassim region of Saudi Arabia.Methods: We conducted a cross sectional study in 18 schools of Qassim Regions in Saudi Arabia, Data was collected by 486 pre-tested, self-administered questionnaires. The questionnaires included a section on social-demographic information (age, sex, education of parents) besides prevailing myths on vitiligo. Data was analyzed by using SPSS (version 17 for Windows).Results: The response rate: Males 46.3%, and females 53.3%. With vitiligo disease: 24.1% and non-diseased 75.9%, with positive family history: Males 9.3%, female 13.8%. Myths among students compared with gender: Vitiligo with; Fish/milk food (P= 0.374), calcium deficiency (P= 0.001), iron deficiency (P= 0.001),Vit C deficiency (P= 0.225), infectious (P= 0.001), Chicken pox like disease (P= 0.001), precancerous (P= 0.212) and not curable (P= 0.001). Myths among students compared with diseased/not diseased, namely that relation of vitiligo with: Fish/milk food (P= 0.006), calcium deficiency (P= 0.001), iron deficiency (P= 0.022), Vit C deficiency (P= 0.001), infectious (P= 0.228), Chicken pox like disease (P= 0.001), precancerous (P= 0.051) and not curable (P= 0.231).Conclusion: The prevailing myths and conceptions delay seeking medical advice and should be addressed by focused health education programs through school health services.