BACKGROUND: A study about the association of psoriasis and vitiligo is necessary due to possible immunologic origin of these diseases and their susceptibility loci found on chromosome 1p31. OBJECTIVE: The main objective was to determine the prevalence of psoriasis among patients with vitiligo in a sample of 740 patients submitted to phototherapy and to describe their clinical features. METHOD: Out of 740 patients, 261 were retrospectively studied and analyzed regarding the association of vitiligo and psoriasis, from 2000 to 2004. RESULTS: The prevalence of this association in our survey was 3.06%, which is similar to other previous studies. We identified two cases not reported in our literature review: a) the association of psoriasis, vitiligo and halo nevus, b) the association of segmental vitiligo and psoriasis. CONCLUSIONS: The association of vitiligo and psoriasis has not been often reported, and further studies on the pathophysiology and genetics of this association are necessary.
Nevus, pigmented; Psoriasis; Vitiligo
