Psoriasis Is Much Rarer in Indigenous Groups Worldwide

In some of the world's indigenous communities, psoriasis appears to be vanishingly rare, but a new scoping review warns that diagnostic blind spots, not just biology, may be driving that number down, according to the review, published in Anais Brasileiros de Dermatologia.¹

A Prevalence Gap Nobody Mapped

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory condition with systemic comorbidities and a significant impact on quality of life, yet its prevalence among indigenous populations has remained poorly understood, limiting the ability to design targeted health interventions for these communities. Racial and ethnic disparities in psoriasis diagnosis and care are already well documented in the US, where minoritized individuals are substantially more likely to live with undiagnosed disease than White individuals, underscoring how diagnostic access alone can shape what prevalence data appear to show.²

To better understand the global picture, researchers conducted a scoping review of psoriasis prevalence specifically among indigenous communities, along with the genetic, environmental, and socioeconomic factors that might explain observed differences and the barriers that complicate accurate diagnosis in these populations.¹

A search of PubMed, Ovid MEDLINE, the Cochrane Library, and Scopus identified 30 candidate studies, of which 15 met inclusion criteria, together encompassing 13 distinct indigenous populations across 6 continents.

Zero Prevalence in Several Communities, but One Notable Exception

Almost all indigenous groups studied showed markedly lower psoriasis prevalence compared with global estimates. Zero prevalence was reported in the Taiwan Ami, American Samoan, Tanzanian Maasai, and Aboriginal groups in Brazil and Peru, and the condition was described as anecdotally rare among Aboriginal Australians, Native Alaskans, First Nations Canadians, and Native Americans. The majority of indigenous populations studied had a lower prevalence of psoriasis than their respective national populations overall.

One group bucked the trend entirely. The Inuit people of Tasiilaq, Greenland, were the only indigenous group found to have a higher psoriasis prevalence (5.7%) than their national comparator (1.1%-1.34%), and the Sami people of Norway likewise had one of the higher prevalences observed (1.4%) among the indigenous groups studied.

The authors postulated several possible explanations for the broader pattern of lower prevalence, including protective genetic and environmental factors, degree of ultraviolet light exposure, and cultural or traditional lifestyle patterns, but cautioned that limited access to specialists, diagnostic challenges in assessing psoriasis in skin of color, and cultural differences in care-seeking all complicate accurate prevalence estimation in these communities.

“Standardised research methodologies and culturally sensitive health care strategies are crucial to address disparities and improve recognition in these communities,” the authors wrote.

Just half of the 30 studies identified in the initial search met inclusion criteria, and the quality and methodology of the underlying prevalence studies varied widely across the 13 populations represented, limiting direct comparability between communities.

Because diagnostic access and expertise in recognizing psoriasis in skin of color varied substantially across the included settings, the authors could not fully disentangle true biological differences in prevalence from underdiagnosis driven by health care access gaps.

For population health and health equity teams, the review is as much a call to action as a prevalence survey. Before accepting low reported psoriasis rates in indigenous communities at face value, health systems need standardized diagnostic training for skin of color and culturally responsive outreach to determine how much of that gap reflects biology vs access.

References

1. Yang Y, Lee S, Lai FYX, Romiti R. Prevalence of psoriasis in indigenous communities around the world: a scoping review. An Bras Dermatol. 2026;101(5):501421. doi:10.1016/j.abd.2026.501421
2. National Psoriasis Foundation. Psoriasis Health Disparities. Accessed October 1, 2026. https://www.psoriasis.org/psoriasis-health-disparities