Objectives: Vitiligo is an inflammation-mediated chronic autoimmune disease characterized by the destruction of melanocytes, resulting in pale or white patches of skin. Individuals with vitiligo often experience substantial psychosocial burden. Here we describe behavioral health burden in individuals with vitiligo in the United States.

Methods: Data were collected from MarketScan Commercial and Medicare supplemental claims databases. Eligible individuals were ≥12 years old with a medical claim for vitiligo in 2018 (first claim is index date) and 12 continuous months of enrollment in their healthcare plan post-index date. Comorbidities were identified based on prespecified International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-10 codes on a medical claim. Per-patient-per-year (PPPY) healthcare resource utilization (HCRU) and expenditures (excluding out-of-pocket) were aggregated and compared in individuals with vs without behavioral health comorbidities.

Results: Of 12,427 individuals with vitiligo, mean (SD) age was 44 (16.9) years; 53% were female. Almost one-fourth (23%) had a diagnosis of a behavioral health condition, with the most common being sleep disorder (10%), depression (7%), adjustment disorder (5%), and anxiety (4%). Individuals with behavioral health comorbidities had significantly greater (P<0.01) HCRU compared with individuals without behavioral health comorbidities, including prescription claims (25.0 vs 13.0), outpatient services (19.0 vs 11.0), physician visits (10.1 vs 6.4), inpatient visits (5.0 vs 3.0), and emergency room (ER) visits (3.0 vs 1.0). PPPY total healthcare expenditures ($18,804 vs $9833) and costs related to outpatient services ($8942 vs $4518), pharmacy ($4229 vs $2872), inpatient visits ($3289 vs $1185), physician visits ($1274 vs $782), and ER visits ($1069 vs $476) were consequently higher (P<0.01) among individuals with comorbid behavioral health conditions vs those without.

Conclusions: In this analysis of US claims data, nearly 1 in 4 individuals with vitiligo had a behavioral health condition and incurred greater healthcare consumption and expenditures vs those without behavioral health conditions.