Individual Typology Angle and Fitzpatrick Skin Phototypes are Not Equivalent in Photodermatology
Muhammad Osto, Iltefat Hamzavi, Henry W. Lim, Indermeet Kohli
Abstract
Individual typology angle (ITA) measures constitutive pigmentation while skin phototypes (SPT) categories are based on sun reactiveness. However, the association between the two, ITA and SPT, is yet to be established. Since both systems provide six categories, recent studies have used ITA classifications as synonymous to SPT. The results of this study indicate that these cannot be utilized interchangeably. In conclusion, poor correlation between the six objective individual typology angle categories and the subjective Fitzpatrick skin phototype categories was established along with highlighting ITAs potential in photobiologic studies and objective standardization of skin type classifications.