The groups were also underrepresented in the hidradenitis suppurativa literature.

A new analysis suggested that women and minorities are consistently underrepresented in the psoriasis and hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) medical literature. 

"Ensuring clinical trial populations reflect the racial, ethnic, and sex makeup of patient populations is important for developing safe and effective drugs for all patient groups, as well as the formation of appropriate resources for patient education and support," the authors wrote. "Minorities are at a disproportionately high risk for disparities in treatment response and access to therapy compared to the general population."

The research team looked at data on race, ethnicity, and sex of HS and psoriasis patient populations across the emergency department (ED), inpatient, clinical trial, and registry settings. They used 95% confidence intervals as proxies of statistical significance to compare demographics between settings. 

Despite legislative efforts to promote diversity in clinical trials, the authors reported significant underrepresentation of females and minorities in HS and psoriasis clinical trials. Female, Hispanic, and Black patients were notably underrepresented in HS trials compared to their population prevalence (female: 63.7% vs 73.5%; Hispanic: 3.8% vs 12.0%; Black: 9.1% vs 20.3%). Similarly, psoriasis trials showed underrepresentation of females and Black patients compared to their population prevalence (female: 33.0% vs 54.8%; Black: 2.2% vs 5.7%).

"Addressing clinical trial demographic disparities may play a role in providing more effective therapies to all patients," the researchers said in the study. "Reporting on race and ethnicity in clinical trials has been increasing over time but remains imperfect and is not universal. More research and advocacy are needed to ensure adequate clinical trial representation for all demographic groups."

Source: Greif C, Gibson RS, Kimball AB, Holcomb ZE, Porter ML. Evaluating minority representation across health care settings in hidradenitis suppurativa and psoriasis. Intl J Women Dermatol. 2024;10(1):e129. doi:https://doi.org/10.1097/JW9.0000000000000129