Pa Vang, the daughter of Hmong immigrants from the mountains of Laos who settled in Minnesota following the Vietnam War, does not fit the stereotypical mold of a rosacea patient -- who is often fair-skinned, older and of northern European descent. But the sophomore at the University of Minnesota-Morris who was diagnosed with rosacea in her early teens is doing her part to broaden the public's perception of the disorder and whom it affects.

While rosacea is thought to be most common in fair-skinned individuals, it may simply be more difficult to diagnose in those of African American, Asian and Hispanic heritage, said Dr. Fran Cook-Bolden, associate director, The Skin of Color Center, St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital Center in New York City, during a recent meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology.

While acknowledging that rosacea is more widespread among fair-skinned individuals, researchers found that rosacea is "not uncommon" in Korea, according to information presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology.

Rosacea was diagnosed in about 1 percent of nearly 6,000 patients who visited the clinic of Drs. B. J. Kim, J. M. Park, J. N. Park and W. S. Koh of the Department of Dermatology, Inje University College of Medicine, Sanggye Paik Hospital in Seoul, South Korea.