Reports Health Disparities in Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Conference Summary

Reports Health Disparities in Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Conference Summary: "Measuring and Interpreting Disparities in Prevalence and Severity of Disease
The conferees distinguished race from ethnicity at the outset and reviewed data showing that both can be difficult to operationalize and to do so in a reproducible way. For some ethnic groups, race and socioeconomic factors are inextricably linked and the relationship needs study by assessing both and examining their interaction. Validated techniques for the classification of race and socioeconomic status (SES) need to be standardized.
Skin Disorders
Little or no data exist on the prevalence or severity of hair and skin disorders in people of color.
There is a need for basic descriptive data on the structure and function of hair and skin in people of color. Valid measurement tools are needed. Data are needed on common skin diseases, including epidemiology, clinical presentation ,natural history, and complications.
The current National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) is evaluating the sensitivity, specificity, validity, and reliability of digital photography of the skin as an assessment tool to determine the prevalence of three skin disorders (atypical nevi, psoriasis, and hand dermatitis) and measure environmental and occupational exposures. The current survey is oversampling African Americans and Mexican Americans [www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes.htm].
Disparities in Prevalence and Severity
For some diseases of the bones, joints, muscles, and skin, studies show that certain racial and ethnic groups experience the disease more frequently or more severely than the general population.
Osteoarthritis (OA) of the hip and knee occur more often in African American men than in Caucasian men. African American men are more"