The burden of vitiligo is significant in patients with skin of color, which makes treatment breakthroughs more impactful. Dr. Pearl E. Grimes, chair of the Pigmentary Disorders Exchange Symposium, spoke with Next Steps in Derm, in partnership with Skin of Color Update, about breakthroughs in the treatment of vitiligo in patients with skin of color. Find out which therapies have enhanced results in patients with darker skin tones. Hear Dr. Grimes’s take on what to do if any repigmented patches come in darker than the surrounding skin. And learn what research says about the efficacy of JAK inhibitors for vitiligo in this patient population.
Further Reading
If you want to read more about vitiligo in patients with skin of color, check out the following articles published in the Journal of Drugs in Dermatology:
ABSTRACT
Background: While the prevalence of vitiligo is similar across racial and ethnic groups, the effects of vitiligo vary by demographic group, culture, and skin color, with darker-skinned individuals facing greater stigma due to increased visibility of the disease. The recruitment of diverse participants that are representative of the United States (US) population is crucial to ensuring the generalizability of findings and understanding the impacts of vitiligo across diverse patient groups.
Objectives: This study aimed to determine demographic reporting trends in US vitiligo clinical trials and to determine whether participants are representative of the US population.
Methods: A search for US vitiligo clinical trials was conducted on clinicaltrials.gov. Trials conducted between 2006 to September 5, 2023, were included if they intended to treat vitiligo, were conducted in the US, and were completed or terminated.
Results: Of the 15 trials meeting inclusion criteria, only 60% (n=9) reported participant race/ethnicity. These 9 studies included 1,510 participants, of which only 25.43% (n=384) were non-White and 20.40% were Hispanic. There was disproportionately low representation of racial minorities, particularly Black, Native American, and Native Hawaiian groups.
Limitations: Limitations of our study include small sample size, variations in demographic reporting between trials, and undercounting of minority groups by the US Census.
Conclusions: Racial and ethnic minority groups remain underrepresented in US vitiligo clinical trials. Given that the impact of vitiligo can vary by the affected individual’s demographic group and skin color, investigators must be intentional about including a more diverse and representative population in vitiligo clinical trials.
The Current Landscape of Vitiligo Treatment Centers
ABSTRACT
Specialized vitiligo treatment centers are instrumental in providing comprehensive care and advancing research for individuals with vitiligo. There is a paucity of literature characterizing the demographics, practice setting, and research impact of vitiligo treatment centers. This study sought to characterize the current landscape of these specialized centers.
Did you enjoy this video interview? Find more here.