She explained that medical education has historically relied heavily on images of lighter skin, potentially limiting clinicians' ability to recognize familiar conditions in patients with darker skin tones.
How do skin conditions present differently in darker skin tones?
Inflammatory skin conditions may vary in color, distribution, and morphology depending on a patient's skin tone.
For example, pityriasis rosea and eczema may have a more papular appearance in children with darker skin tones.
She also discussed disparities in melanoma diagnosis among adults with darker skin tones, citing possible contributing factors such as limited access to dermatologic care, medical mistrust, and misconceptions that skin cancer does not occur in people with darker skin.