Literature review shows lack of ethnic/racial diversity in industry-sponsored aesthetic trials.
Wausau, WI (April 20, 2022) – Cosmetic procedures are on the rise in all racial and ethnic demographics. According to a Plastic Surgery statistics report conducted by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons in 2018, approximately 30% of cosmetic patients identify as skin of color. Since there are special considerations for treating skin of color, cosmetic clinical trials should be representative of their intended target populations to uncover healthcare disparities or adverse outcomes. However, a recent literature review discovered a disparity in ethnic/racial diversity representation.
The clinical report, led by Lisa Akintilo MD, MPH, is titled, “Skin of color representation in cosmetic clinical trials: A literature review.” The report, published in Lasers in Surgery and Medicine (LSM), the official journal of the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery, Inc. (ASLMS), was selected as the April 2022 Editor’s Choice. The study was initiated as part of an ASLMS Mentorship Program project in 2021.
The authors sought to analyze published cosmetic randomized controlled trials, both industry-sponsored and investigator-initiated, to better characterize and assess representation of skin of color participants over the past three decades. The study shows that industry sponsorship correlates with poor study participant ethnic/racial diversity in aesthetic randomized controlled trials.
“We did this study because despite cosmetic procedures being on the rise in the US in all demographics, cosmetic procedures remain heavily skewed towards non-skin of color patients. Similarly, many published aesthetic clinical trials have poor representation and inclusion of non-white patients,” Akintilo said. “We believe this work is important as it highlights the need for cosmetic clinical trials to be more representative of the ever-increasing diversity of our world. This should serve as a call to action for industries to increase the inclusion of skin of color participants in their studies.”
Lisa Akintilo is a current PGY-4 dermatology resident at New York University with substantial clinical and research interests in procedural dermatology, global health, and mitigating healthcare disparities. She is passionate about connecting and collaborating with medical peers across the globe, and is also an advocate for community partnerships, medical education, and mentorship. After residency, she will be starting a Cosmetic Dermatologic Surgery Fellowship at the Skin Associates of South Florida under the guidance of Drs. Joely Kaufman and Jeremy Green.
Editor’s Choice is an exclusive article published in LSM, the official journal of the ASLMS. View the complete manuscript.
The American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery, Inc. (ASLMS) is the largest multidisciplinary professional organization dedicated to the development and application of lasers and related technology for health care applications. ASLMS promotes excellence in patient care by advancing biomedical application of lasers and other related technologies worldwide. ASLMS membership includes physicians, surgeons, nurses, and allied health professionals representing multiple specialties, physicists involved in product development, biomedical engineers, biologists, industry representatives and manufacturers. For more information, visit aslms.org.