The Correlation between Melasma and ABO Blood Type

Abstract

Aim: Melasma is an irregular brown hyperpigmentation mostly observed in the middle face. Although genetic predisposition, ultraviolet radiation and female sex hormones have been reported as the main causes, inflammatory processes were also considered to play a role in melasma. It has been determined that blood groups play a role in many genetic and inflammatory diseases. Since the genes that encode blood types were associated with inflammation, blood type could play a role in the etiology of melasma, an inflammatory and genetically inherited disease. The present study aimed to investigate the correlation between melasma and ABO/Rh blood types, which has never been investigated before. Material and Methods: The study was conducted 100 patients with melasma and 1000 healthy controls. The patient and healthy control blood types and Rh factor data were collected from the hospital automation system retrospectively. Results: Female gender ratio was significantly higher in the patient group compared to the control group (p