OBJECTIVES: Vitiligo is a chronic autoimmune depigmenting skin disease with limited studies on disease burden. This study contributes to the understanding of the current prevalence, disease impact, and treatment patterns across Europe based on recent studies.

METHODS: We analyzed results of 3 retrospective studies (varying study period, 2010–2021) using electronic medical records (Spain, UK) and administrative databases (Italy) in patients with vitiligo. Incidence and prevalence were calculated annually for UK and Spain; Italian prevalence was estimated using an epidemiologic model for diagnosed vitiligo. Each study described patient demographics, clinical characteristics, and treatments.

RESULTS: Studies included a total of 71,591 prevalent and 18,841 incident patients diagnosed with vitiligo (UK, Spain, Italy). Annual prevalence varied geographically: 0.18% (Spain 2020), 0.32% (Italy lifetime), and 0.37% (UK 2020). Among incident patients, mean age varied between 40.7 years (Spain) and 52.0 years (Italy), and the majority were female (52.2% [UK] to 53.9% [Spain]). Common comorbidities were diabetes, eczema, and thyroid disease; common mental disorders were depression and anxiety. Antidepressant treatment rates over time ranged between 8.3% (Italy) and 24.8% (UK). In 2019, between 71.3% (Spain) and 85.0% (UK) of patients were not on any vitiligo-related treatment. The most prescribed vitiligo-related treatments were topical calcineurin inhibitors and topical corticosteroids.

CONCLUSIONS: In these retrospective studies, prevalence estimates were in the lower range of previous European estimates (0.2%–0.8%); however, they aligned with a recent study using German claims data (0.2%, 2020). All studies underlined the real-world psychosocial impact of vitiligo on patients and burden on healthcare systems. New effective treatment options and psychological interventions are needed to reduce vitiligo burden, as is further highlighted by current treatment patterns showing that many patients are not on vitiligo-related therapy. More systematic studies of vitiligo are needed to further assess real-world disease burden and improve patient outcomes.