Spectrophotometric analysis of human pigmentation characteristics plays an important role in medicine and cosmetology. However, to correctly interpret the results, one must know the normal range of variability of pigmentation and erythema in the population. This is of utmost importance for quantitative assessment of melanocytic nevi, hemangiomas, and allergic reactions. The objective of the present work was to determine the physiological range of variability of skin and hair pigmentation and of erythema in Polish prepubertal children. The study encompassed Polish children aged 7 to 10 years without any abnormalities in skin or hair pigmentation. A total of 802 children were examined. Constitutive skin and hair pigmentation and skin erythema were evaluated using a dermaspectrometer. The LMS method (Cole 1990, Pan, Cole 2004) was used for the construction of percentile charts presenting the distribution of skin melanin index (SMI), hair melanin index (HMI), and erythema index (EI) values in the various age and sex groups. The presented normal ranges of variability of SMI, HMI, and EI are the first Polish reference standards for these indices. The manner in which the data are presented makes it possible to graphically assess these characteristics (percentile charts) as well as to conduct their normalization using L, M, and S parameters. The normalized values may also be converted to percentiles. Standards may be used in clinical practice, e.g., for evaluating pigmentation abnormalities and skin reactions to inflammations, irritations, and allergies. Furthermore, they may be applied in designing dermatological and pharmacological research.

Clinic of Plastic Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery Medical University of Łodż

Department of Anthropology Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection University of Łodż

Literatura