From the Vault: Vitiligo trials lag on diversity – US studies underrepresent non‑White and Hispanic patients
We are pulling this article from the JDD vault. It’s a July 2024 article that is still gaining traction. Take a look at this review of US vitiligo clinical trials (2006-Sept 2023) which shows persistent gaps in trial diversity that threaten generalizability: of 15 eligible trials, only 9 reported participant race/ethnicity. Those nine enrolled 1,510 participants but included only 25.4% non‑White and 20.4% Hispanic subjects, with particularly low representation of Black, Native American and Native Hawaiian groups. The authors note small sample sizes and inconsistent demographic reporting across trials as limitations, but the signal is clear: trial populations do not yet mirror the demographic mix of the communities most affected by visible pigmentary disease.
For the dermatologists, the implication is twofold: when applying trial evidence to diverse patients, recognize the uncertainty introduced by underrepresentation, and when possible, help close the gap, and advocate for and refer eligible patients to trials, support investigators in community outreach and culturally tailored recruitment, and insist on complete demographic reporting in published studies.
Read the full article to review the trial list, reporting gaps, and recommended steps investigators and clinicians can take to improve representation.
J Drugs Dermatol. 2024;23(7):e164-e166. doi:10.36849/JDD.8117e
Blog write-up assisted by AI
