Kim Kardashian has revealed that her son was diagnosed with vitiligo, a hereditary autoimmune condition.
The Kardashians star shares four kids with ex-husband Kanye West, with the former couple welcoming children North, Saint, Chicago and Psalm together.
In a new interview on the She MD podcast, the 43-year-old opened up about her own health issues and battles with psoriasis, after sharing a glimpse at an intense flare-up.
Speaking to Dr Thais Aliabadi – aka Dr A – and Dr Daniel Wallace in the latest episode, the Skims founder spoke for the first time about issues her kids have faced.
‘20% of people with an autoimmune disease have an offspring with an autoimmune disease,’ Dr Daniel explained.
‘My son has an autoimmune disease and I… They said it’s hereditary so [we’ve been] trying to figure it out,’ Kim said.
‘It came from my mom, went to me, figuring out, “Well, where did she get it?” I passed [it] on in a different form to my son, who has vitiligo very mildly.
‘We got it under control. I didn’t know anything about it, but having to learn about it and figuring out where it came from, that it’s hereditary, just learning more and being able to share that [has been a blessing].’
The mom-of-four didn’t go into details about vitiligo or name whether Saint or Psalm had been diagnosed with the condition – but did share that her kids also suffer from a ‘little bit of eczema’.
Vitiligo is a long-term skin condition that causes white patches to form on the skin, caused by a lack of melanin.
The cause is currently unknown but it can affect any part of the body but most commonly appears on the face, hands and anywhere there is a fold in the skin.
A string of famous faces have also been diagnosed with the condition, including model Winnie Harlow and music legend Michael Jackson.
Throughout his career, the late Thriller singer was subjected to rumors that he was bleaching his skin after his appearance began to change.
In a 1993 interview with Oprah Winfrey, he confirmed that he had a skin condition, and was ‘hurt’ by speculation over his identity.
He fumed at the time: ‘But what about all the millions of people who sit in the sun to become darker, to become other than what they are? Nobody says nothing about that.
Michael’s son, Prince Jackson, cleared up the scrutiny last year while speaking to Mike Tyson on his Hot Boxin podcast, explaining: ‘When I was younger he would always explain to me that he had a skin condition called vitiligo. I don’t know what the actual medical term is.
‘I think the cause of it – it’s up for speculation – but it’s either vitiligo or some form of lupus that contributed to the vitiligo.
‘He had a lot of insecurity around looking blotchy and his appearance so he wanted to see if he could smooth out his appearance to help with his security on his physical appearance.’