La cute etnica: Caratteristiche fisiopatologiche e patologie di più frequente riscontro

At present about 80% of the world's population belongs to ethnic groups of non-caucasian skin types and this percentage will increase as shown by the projected growth rates of Asian, Hispanic, and African populations. On the basis of this trend, physicians need to deepen their knowledge of the structural, functional and clinical diversity between caucasian and ethnic skin. Racial variability in skin structure and skin function is still a matter of controversy, as data often conflict. Do differences between fair skin and pigmented skin really exists? Does ethnic skin react differently in terms of responses to chemical and environmental insults? Which are the clinical patterns that distinguish the presentation of skin disease in ethnic population? We will review the most common problems seen by dermatologists in ethnic skin, comparing them with the presentation in caucasian skin and we will discuss their current treatments.