Is ABO blood grouping a gene marker for vitiligo?

Vitiligo is an idiopathic acquired hypopigmentary dermatosis on an otherwise normal skin. The search for the aetiopathogenesis of vitiligo has been for a long time. Despite various hypothesis and theories postulated the aetiology remains unknown. This paper examines the possible relationship between vitiligo and ABO blood groups as a gene marker. Sixty patients with vitiligo and their ABO blood grouping done. There was no statistically significant difference between their ABO blood groups and that of healthy blood donors in a teaching hospital for five years with an average of 6,000 donors per year. There is no direct relationship between their vitiligo and ABO blood groupings.