A Clinico-epidemiological Study on Melasma: A Prospective Observation

Abstract

Background: Melasma is an acquired heightened pigmentation of the skin, illustrated by gray-brown symmetricalpatches, mainly in the sun-exposed areas of the skin. The pathogenesis is unknown, but genetic or hormonal influenceswith UV radiation are essential.Objectives: To study the clinico-epidemiological pattern and theprecipitating factors in melasma.Materials and Methods: A total of 310 patients were enrolled for thestudy over a period of one year. Consecutive sampling technique was used, and the study period was from January 2019 to December 2019. SPSS 22 was used for analysis.Results: The mean age of patients with melasma was 33.35 years, ranging from 14 to56 years. There was female preponderance with a female to male ratio of approximately 4:1. The mean age of onsetwas 28.99 years, with the youngest and oldest being 11 and 48 years, respectively. The patients sought medical treatmenton an average of 3.69 years after appearance of melasma. About 55.32% of our patients reported that their diseaseexacerbated during sun exposure. Among 250 female patients, 60 reported pregnancy and 46 reported oral contraceptivesas the precipitating factors. A positivefamily history of melasma was observed in 100 (33.34%) patients. Centrofacial was the most common pattern (55.47%)observed in the present study. Conclusion: The precise cause of melasma isunknown. However, many factors have been associated in theetiopathogenesis of this disorder.