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Report of race, ethnicity lacking in international dermatology clinical trials

Reported race and ethnic diversity of research cohorts is lacking in dermatology clinical trials, particularly within international trials, according to study results published in JAMA Dermatology.

Researchers conducted a systematic review using the PubMed database from between July 2010 and July 2015 for dermatology clinical trials to analyze the degree of racial, ethnic and sex representation. Racial and ethnic categories included American Indian, Alaskan Native, Asian, black or African-American, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander and white.

Of the 626 articles included, 97 were exclusively conducted in the U.S. and 164 were partially conducted in the U.S.

Reports of race and ethnicity were included in 58 of the 97 U.S. exclusive studies, 97 of either exclusive or partially U.S. studies and in 52 of the 462 international studies. A subgroup analysis of the 97 U.S. exclusive studies found a significant correlation in which race type was more likely reported with certain diseases, such as vitiligo (100%) and psoriasis (76.9%) compared with acne (54.8%) and eczema (52.5%).

Of the 626 articles, 532 included data on the distribution of male and female patients, with the majority of patients being female (54.9%). Certain types of journals were more likely to report sex distribution, such as general medicine (87%) and dermatology journals (87.2%).

Funding type was also found to be associated with the likelihood of race and ethnic reports, particularly in the case of articles containing research funded by industry (42.3%) compared with research funded by other entities (P < .001).

“Journals and funding sources can reinforce our diverse clinical trial population by continuing to prioritize racial, ethnic, and genetic diversity within the articles they fund and publish; requiring reporting of racial and ethnic data in all dermatology RCTs will lead us even further,” the researchers wrote. “These combined efforts will enable dermatology to be an example within medicine for how to best achieve diversity within research and, by extension, clinical practice.” – by Talitha Bennett

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.