Blue-eyed people are the least likely to have white spots on their skin, while people with brown eyes are least likely to suffer from the most dangerous skin cancer – melanoma, Nature Genetics reports.
Researchers from the University of Colorado in Denver conducted multicentre studies. They have shown that people with blue eyes are particularly rarely affected by a disease called vitiligo, in which a malfunction of the immune system destroys the cells that produce the dye, leading to the appearance of white patches on the skin and hair. Michael Jackson claimed that it was albinism that was responsible for the changes in his appearance.
Vitiligo is associated with other autoimmune disorders – for example, thyroid disease, type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and lupus. Relatives of people with vitiligo are also prone to autoimmune diseases.
Experts from Denver studied nearly 3000 Americans of European descent with vitiligo – they identified 13 new genes that predispose to this type of change. Among people with vitiligo, 27 percent. had blue or gray eyes, 43 percent – brown, 30 percent – green. The statistical distribution of eye color in the European American population is different – 52%. has blue or gray eyes, 22 percent are green and 27 are brown.
By the way, the relationship between eye color and the risk of melanoma was revealed. As Dr. Richard Spritz, lead researcher explained, genetically vitiligo and melanoma are two extremes, so that genes that promote one disorder protect against the other. The immune system of people with vitiligo is extremely active in destroying the cancerous pigment cells, and the lower immune activity that promotes melanoma rarely leads to vitiligo.