Skin Color Representation in Infectious Disease Textbooks

Darker skin is underrepresented in medical textbooks. This may contribute to inequity in our system. We assessed skin color representation in infectious disease textbooks and compared diseases associated with social stigma to those not stigmatized. Images depicting conditions associated with social stigma were significantly more common on darker skin. Dark skin is underrepresented in key infectious disease textbooks and images of dark skin are more likely to depict conditions associated with social stigma. Book editors must consider image selection carefully to avoid perpetuating bias.