Familial aggregation of vitiligo in the French West Indies (Isle of Martinique).

Environmental factors are thought to influence the genetic transmission of vitiligo, and may change in families of different extraction. Most studies on vitiligo have been performed in occidental countries or in India, therefore, our purpose was to study the familial vitiligo aggregation in Martinique (French West Indies). Data on 16 families were collected from 1995 to 1999. Information was compared to 36 controls affected with sporadic vitiligo, using the chi(2) test. The prevalence among relatives of patients was 7%, as compared to 0.34% in the general population (p < 0.001). The age of onset of vitiligo was 31 in family cases and 33 in controls. Vitiligo occurred before the age of 20 in 19% of family cases and in 36% of controls. Most families (75%) have no more than 2 affected members. No difference was observed in triggering and environmental factors in family cases and controls. Our observations are in agreement with the literature data, leading to the assumption that the environmental factors involved in the expression of vitiligo in our island do not differ from other areas.