Many famous people, actors, singers, athletes and VIPs have gotten used to living with the public exposure of their characteristic: Vitiligo. Any names? Andy Warhol, Michael Jackson, the swimming star Luca Marinthe juror of X Factor Mara Maionchi. Everyone has made a career in the spotlight, everyone has been able to face the judgment of others. The social stigma that still affects those who suffer from this disease.
In the World Vitiligo DayJune 25, immediately comes to mind Winnie Harlow, the Jamaican-born Canadian supermodel whose signs of Vitiligo are evident all over her body. Kilometers of legs, dark complexion, those white patches that cover her from head to toe didn’t stop her from parading on the catwalks of the Victoria’s Secret Show or London Fashion Week, to become a testimonial for Desigual, to pose for Vogue or take part in a Swarovski campaign. “I want to show the world that beauty is whatever anyone wants it to be”, she writes in a post on Instagram in which she has herself photographed naked lying on a large white balloon, with all her areas of non-pigmented skin. And she specifies: “Many times we focus on a standard of beauty that is set for us and we forget that the opinion we have of ourselves should be the only one that really matters”. It’s really like this? World day was born precisely for raise awareness of this chronic disease considered minor but that drastically impacts the quality of life of those who develop it over the years, and to make all those patients who suffer from it feel seen and understood.
What exactly is Vitiligo? It is a skin disease, the causes of which are still undefined, which affects melanocytes, i.e. the cells that produce the pigment on which the natural color of the skin depends (melanin). The resulting lack or absence of melanin is manifested by the appearance of lighter spots, sometimes almost white. In Italy about 330,000 people are affected and suffer the impact on everyday life. This was declared by a recent study by Kearney, a strategic consultancy company on the spread of vitiligo in Italy. The evidence: patients with vitiligo are more likely to develop psychological problems such as depression and anxiety. Furthermore, they are more prone to presenting associated autoimmune diseases. Which? Rheumatoid arthritis, which is 100 percent more common than in those without vitiligo, lymphomas, four times more; lupus, by five times. But the most frequent autoimmune disease, present in over one in ten cases of vitiligo sufferers, is hypothyroidism: 75 percent more than the national average.
The research also addresses the economic aspect, the social cost associated with care: approximately 500 million euros per year. Only the use of psychotherapy courses is 20 times more frequent than the rest of the population. The psychological impact is particularly decisive in women and adolescents. Can this disease be cured? “Vitiligo has so far been without effective treatments. However, lately targeted therapies are becoming available that seem to offer new hope for patients”, explains Ugo Viora, National Association “Friends for the Skin”. Which specifies: “These therapies are based on drugs that by acting specifically on the processes that cause the onset of vitiligo allow a re-pigmentation of the skin”
Often unknown or considered simple skin imperfection, Vitiligo is instead a chronic autoimmune disease which can give rise, day after day, to important psychological disorders such as anxiety and depression. Therefore the fight against its stigmatization is important. The recent billboard campaign titled “Yes I Accepted Vitiligo But I Had No Other Choice” raises awareness of the implications of Vitiligo.
It is promoted by the biopharmaceutical company Incyte under the patronage of Sidemast – Italian Society of Medical and Surgical Dermatology, Aesthetics and Sexually Transmitted Diseases – and Adoi – Association of Italian Hospital Dermatologists and Public Health Dermatologists. And to make the little ones understand that diversity shouldn’t be stigmatized? In the ‘cast’ of Barbie Fashionistas, the inclusive line created a few years ago by Mattel, there is also doll with vitiligo. It allows children to imagine even more stories and scenarios about the world around them. To make it, the company worked with a dermatologist to ensure that the vitiligo was accurately reproduced.