Evaluation of Serum Zinc Concentration in Vitiligo, A Case-Control Study

BackgroundVitiligo is an acquired autoimmune pigmentary disorder characterized by ivory white patches. Zinc is proposed to have an immune modulatory, antioxidant and antiapoptotic properties in vitiligo patients.The aim of this study is to evaluate serum zinc in vitiligo patients. Patients and methodsThis is case-control study conducted from December 2019 to May 2020. The study included 50 patient with vitiligo and 50 age- and sex-matched controls.A 2 ml venous blood sample was taken from patients and controls by zinc-free syringe and was measured by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. ResultsThe mean serum zinc level was 73.14{+/-}19.32 in patients group and 85.36{+/-}14.14 in controls group (p-value=0.005). It also was 77.65{+/-}22.07 and 82.84{+/-}14.32 in male patients and controls, respectively. In female patients, it was 70.82{+/-}17.65and in female controls was 82.88{+/-}13.79(p-value=0.02). Regarding the residence, the mean serum zinc level in patients group was 70.13{+/-}21.4 in urban and 76.39{+/-}17.73 in rural area. In controls group, mean serum zinc was 83.25{+/-}14.12 and 89.11{+/-}13.77 in urban and rural area, respectively (p-value=0.003). According to the clinical patterns of vitiligo, the mean serum zinc observed was 75.32{+/-}19.64 in vitiligo vulgaris, 70.45{+/-}21.23 in acrofacial vitiligo and 68.7{+/-}17.61 in segmental vitiligo (p-value=0.68). ConclusionSerum zinc level was significantly low in patients with vitiligo but not associated with the type of vitiligo or family history of autoimmune diseases. It was even lower when vitiligo is associated with nail changes than vitiligo without any nail abnormalities.