Patients of color with hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) have increased disease severity and healthcare use compared with other groups, according to a study published in JAAD International.
To assess the potential race-dependent differences in HS patients, the researchers conducted a retrospective analysis consisting of 939 HS patients seen at Stanford Hospital and Clinics and 13,885 HS patients taken from Optum’s de-identified Clinformatics Data Mart Database of national insurance claims dataset.
According to the study results, Black and Hispanic patients had greater healthcare utilization compared to White patients. Moreover, Hispanic patients incurred increased disease severity compared to their White counterparts (χ 2 P = .009). Furthermore, Hispanic patients entered tertiary care at an earlier age (Stanford mean: 30.8 years for Hispanics vs 38.7 for Whites; P < .001), while Black patients entered later (Stanford mean: 39.6 years), the researchers noted.
“Our findings suggest that patients of color may have greater healthcare utilization and disease severity compared to other groups,” the researchers concluded.
