Abstract:

Objective To investigate the relationship between anxiety and serum β-endorphin in patients with vitiligo. Methods Eighty patients with developing vitiligo (case group) and 40 healthy controls (control group) were selected. ZUNG self-rating anxiety scale (SAS) was employed to determine the anxiety status, and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was adopted to measure the serum β-endorphin levels. Results The SAS scores in case group （50.85±12.23）was significantly higher than that in control group （37.86±11.23）(t=5.63，P＜0.01). The prevalence of anxiety in case group (47.5%, 38/80) was significantly higher than that in control group (5.0%，2/40）（χ²=21.67，P＜0.01). In case group, the SAS score and prevalence of anxiety of females were significantly higher than those of males; the SAS score and prevalence of anxiety of the unmarried were significantly higher than those of the married; the SAS score and prevalence of anxiety in patients with vitiligo in exposed skin were significantly higher than those in non-exposed skin; and the SAS score and prevalence of anxiety in patients aged between 16 and 24 were significantly higher than those aged more than 25 (P＜0.05 or P＜0.01). There was no significant difference in SAS score and prevalence of anxiety between patients with disease duration ≤6 months and those with disease duration >6 months and between patients with higher education and those without higher education （P＞0.05). The mass concentration of serum β-endorphin in case group was （219.11±30.18）ng/L, which was significantly higher than that in control group [（162.16±19.65）ng/L] （t=9.12，P＜0.01). In case group, the mass concentration of serum β-endorphin in patients with anxiety was （241.71±31.76）ng/L, which was significantly higher than that in patients without anxiety [（197.91±23.29）ng/L]（t=8.66，P＜0.01). Conclusion Patients with vitiligo may be affected by anxiety, and the serum β-endorphin levels may be associated with vitiligo and anxiety.

Key words: vitiligo, anxiety, β-endorphin