The potential effect of smart devices and other stressful factors on Vitiligo in Nassiriah City/Iraq.

Abstract

Background: Vitiligo is a disease that occurs due to dysfunction in the autoimmune system that attacks the skin pigment cells (melanocytes) leading to the appearance of light-colored spots on the skin.

Objective: The study was carried out to investigate the effect of smart devices on the children inflicted with vitiligo, and the correlation of vitiligo with other factors such as performance in the school, the marital status of their parents, type of smart devices (games, YouTube), and others.

Materials and methods: The study was carried out on 49 children diagnosed with vitiligo in Nassiriah City, Iraq. The data of all the variable factors were collected and classified according to the types of smart applications (YouTube and/or games), the status of their parents, and hours spent on using these applications.

Results: The collected data were analyzed into five figures; according to the children's performance in the school and the highest percentage were in the no failure category, or in the high achiever category constituting 38.77% to each one. The percentage of children who lives with both parents is 79.5%. Most of the affected children are the 2nd in order in their families representing 40.8% of children under study. The number of diseased children who use YouTube are 23, their percentage is the highest constituting 46.94%.

Conclusions: Seven conclusions were drawn in this novel study, among them are; that most of the affected children are 2nd in order in their families, and the highest percent of the affected children with vitiligo are those who use YouTube.