Study: Dermabrasion Trials Rarely Report Race or Skin Type
Key Takeaways
Less than half of dermabrasion clinical trials reported race, skin color, or Fitzpatrick Skin Type.
Just 9% of participants had race data reported; nearly all were White.
Researchers noted demographic data limits relevance of findings for patients with skin of color.
Most clinical trials studying dermabrasion have failed to report racial or skin-type demographics, according to a new systematic review.
"Clinical trials that are racially homogenous or do not report race limit the generalizability of the results, particularly for patients who may have a higher risk of adverse effects," the authors wrote. "Therefore, we conducted a systematic review to determine how often and in what ways race was measured in dermabrasion clinical trials."
Researchers from Emory University School of Medicine reviewed more than 1700 articles for the review, with 41 clinical trials on dermabrasion published between 1979 and 2023 meeting the inclusion criteria.
According to the analysis results, fewer than half (46%) of the studies reported any demographic information related to race, skin color, or Fitzpatrick Skin Type (FST). Just 22% of the trials reported racial data, and among 1,199 total patients, only 107 (9%) had a documented race. Of those that did document race, 94% were White, 5% were Black, and 1% were Asian. Although FST was referenced in about one-third of studies, only four trials reported a breakdown of participant types. Among the 78 patients whose FSTs were reported, most fell within FST I to III, with only one patient classified as FST V and none as FST VI. Some studies used higher FSTs as exclusion criteria, further limiting representation of darker-skinned patients.
"Our analysis suggests that the collection of racial demographic information has been the exception rather than the norm in dermabrasion clinical trials," the authors wrote. "When races were reported in our surveyed studies, patient populations were predominantly White, though whether this reflects problems with recruitment or reporting of demographic information is unclear."
They said this lack of information ultimately ends up limiting applicability to practice.
"Dermabrasion clinical studies have overall been ineffective in providing essential demographic information pertaining to race. Moving forward, we recommend that dermatology clinical trials include and report race," the authors said. "Furthermore, given the lack of an agreed upon standard for classifications of race, we believe the development of a validated and standardized tool for reporting race in dermatology is of the utmost importance to promote health equity and further understand disease burden and treatment options for different populations."
Source: Kamboj Sana, Blalock Travis W. J Clin Aesthet Dermatol. 2025;18(4):28–32.