Medical, economic disparities impact hidradenitis suppurativa patients with skin of color

Key takeaways:

• Black and Hispanic patients experience higher disease severity.
• Patients with skin of color are less likely to see a dermatologist for their disease and more likely to be absent from work.

NEW YORK — Hidradenitis suppurativa disproportionally affects patients with skin of color, resulting in many management and quality of life disparities, according to a speaker at the Skin of Color Update 2023 Meeting.

“[Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS)] is a multifactorial disease, but we believe that the primarily inciting issue is follicular occlusion,” Ginette A. Okoye, MD, FAAD, professor and chair of dermatology at Howard University, said during her presentation.

According to the Hidradenitis Suppurativa Foundation, people with skin of color are more likely to have HS than white people. Furthermore, according to Okoye, Black and Hispanic patients have greater disease severity than white patients, causing a large racial disparity among patients with HS.

In an interview with Healio, Okoye explained the plight of patients with skin of color that have HS.

The rates of health care utilization, outpatient visits, ED visits and inpatient hospitalization are higher among Black and Hispanic patients than white patients, according to Okoye. Black patients are also less likely to see a dermatologist for HS, resulting in a lack of proper disease management.

The impact of HS on socioeconomic status and income can be quite devastating on HS patients as well. According to Okoye, patients with HS experience slower income growth and lower annual income and exhibit a higher risk of leaving the workforce due to the impact their disease has on their ability to work.

Additionally, patients with HS are more likely to take a leave of absence and file for short- or long-term disability. Overall, patients with HS also miss more days of work compared with patients without HS (18 vs. 7 days, respectively).

Okoye emphasized that dermatologists are in a unique position to correct these disparities and help these patients.

“We need to improve access to care, and we need to ensure that the dermatology workforce is educated about HS management,” Okoye told Healio. “We need to educate the other providers who are seeing patients with HS about management and provide a referral pathway. We need to use tools that keep patients out of the ED or hospital.”

Reference:

• What is HS? https://www.hs-foundation.org/what-is-hs. Accessed Oct. 11, 2023.