Decreased risk of major osteoporotic fracture following long-term narrowband UVB phototherapy in patients with vitiligo: An 11-year nationwide propensity score-matched study = Decreased risk of major osteoporotic fracture following long-term narrowband UVB phototherapy in patients with vitiligo: An 11-year nationwide propensity score-matched study

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Background: Narrowband ultraviolet B (NB-UVB) phototherapy is widely used for the treatment of vitiligo and chronic inflammatory skin disorders. In addition to its therapeutic effects in skin disorders, NB-UVB phototherapy has been shown to increase the serum vitamin D concentration.
Objectives: This study investigated the incidence of major osteoporotic fractures in patients with vitiligo after NB-UVB phototherapy.
Methods: A nationwide population-based retrospective cohort study was conducted using the Korean National Health Insurance claims database (2007-2017). The study included patients who had undergone ≥ 100 phototherapy sessions (Phototherapy group) or < 3 phototherapy sessions (No phototherapy group). Using 1:2 propensity score matching, the groups were matched for age, sex, and insurance type, and for comorbidities.
Results: The overall risk of osteoporotic fracture was significantly lower in the Phototherapy group compared to the No phototherapy group (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.745, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.602-0.921). In subgroup analyses, the risk was significantly lower in the female and older age groups.
Conclusion: The risk of major osteoporotic fractures was lower in patients with vitiligo treated with long-term NB-UVB phototherapy.