A globally available internet-based patient survey of pemphigus vulgaris: epidemiology and disease characteristics.

The authors developed an anonymous, Web-based survey instrument available globally, and collected data from 171 pemphigus vulgaris (PV) patients to assemble epidemiologic data pertaining to an extensive set of clinical parameters in demographically diverse populations. The results showed female predominance, prevalent onset of disease in the fifth decade of life, and a strong correlation of PV with thyroid disease and type 1 diabetes in patients and family members. Most patients have a history of either mucosal-only or mucocutaneous lesions, but numerous patients self-report cutaneous lesions only, without previous or concurrent mucosal lesions, especially in the non-North American PV population.