Abstract
BACKGROUND: Given the increasing demographic diversity in the United States, clarifying relationships between race, color, ethnicity, and disease processes is critical.
OBJECTIVES: We sought to examine the correlation between objective measures of skin pigmentation, racial identification, and physician-diagnosed and self-reported skin phototypes.
METHODS: A total of 558 participants (76 nonwhite) were evaluated. A subset underwent spectrometric readings and digital photography of the upper aspect of the inner arm. Self-identified race was compared with 7 measures of pigmentation.
RESULTS: Race correlates best with physician-diagnosed skin phototype (r = 0.55, P < .01), whereas self-reported skin phototype, spectrometry, and colorimetry correlate poorly with race (r = 0.28, < 0.40, and r > -0.31, respectively, P < .01). Associations between race and subjective measures strengthen among patients with darker skin.
CONCLUSION: Objective measures of pigmentation fail to correlate well with race, whereas race correlates moderately with physician-diagnosed skin phototype. Including objective methods of analyzing skin color may reduce subjective influences of race in assessing photosensitivity and potential risk for skin cancer.