{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,29]],"date-time":"2026-10-29T22:26:57Z","timestamp":1793312817895,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":19,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2019,9,27]],"date-time":"2019-09-27T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1569542400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Medicines"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Pruritus is a common disease symptom with a variety of etiologies known to reduce patient quality of life. We aimed to characterize the racial and gender differences in the presentation of pruritus for itch-related patient visits both within a single institution and nationally. Methods: Cross sectional study of patients \u2265 18 years old seen at Johns Hopkins Health System between 1\/1\/12 and 1\/1\/18. Results were compared to data from 2005\u20132011 from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) and the National Health Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS). Results: Our findings indicate that itch patients at JHHS (n = 18,753) were more likely to be black compared to white patients (37% vs. 19%, p &lt; 0.01) when compared to patients without itch\u2014a trend also noted nationally based on data from NAMCS\/NHAMCS (26% vs. 21%, p = 0.05). Black itch patients are also more likely to be diagnosed with prurigo nodularis (OR 2.37, p &lt; 0.0001), lichen planus (OR 1.22, p &lt; 0.0001), and atopic dermatitis OR 1.51, p &lt; 0.0001). Female itch patients are more likely to be diagnosed with autoimmune (OR 1.66, p &lt; 0.0001) and psychiatric comorbidities (OR 1.2\u20131.8, p &lt; 0.0001) than male itch patients. When compared to black itch patients nationally, white itch patients were more likely to visit a dermatologist (29% vs. 18%, p = 0.028). Our data can identify associated conditions and demographic differences but are unable to support a causal relationship. Conclusions: Black and female patients are more likely to present with pruritus, a symptom associated with comorbidities such as prurigo nodularis, lichen planus, atopic dermatitis, and psychiatric conditions.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/medicines6040098","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2019,9,27]],"date-time":"2019-09-27T11:14:35Z","timestamp":1569582875000},"page":"98","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":33,"title":["Racial and Gender Differences in the Presentation of Pruritus"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"6","author":[{"given":"Katherine A.","family":"Whang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Dermatology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7542-1016","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Raveena","family":"Khanna","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Dermatology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5716-1559","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jamael","family":"Thomas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Dermatology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA"},{"name":"School of Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Crystal","family":"Aguh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Dermatology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3736-1515","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Shawn G.","family":"Kwatra","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Dermatology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA"},{"name":"Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2019,9,27]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"550","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jaad.2013.05.029","article-title":"Itch as a patient-reported symptom in ambulatory care visits in the United States","volume":"69","author":"Shive","year":"2013","journal-title":"J. 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