The association between beliefs about vitamin D and skin cancer risk-related behaviors

Abstract

Major health organizations recommend obtaining most of one’s vitamin D through dietary sources rather than from sun exposure, given the link between sun exposure and increased skin cancer risk. The purpose of this study is to examine the association between beliefs about vitamin D and skin cancer risk-related behaviors, a topic on which research is limited. We analyzed cross-sectional online survey data collected in the summer of 2015 from 4127 U.S. adults aged 18 years and older. Overall, 19.7% of adults believed that sun protection would put them at risk of not getting enough vitamin D. However, less than half (43.1%) thought they could get enough vitamin D from dietary sources. Individuals with this belief were more likely to protect their skin when spending time outdoors (71.3%) compared with those who were neutral or disagreed (56.5%; P < 0.001). Only 5.1% of adults believed that indoor tanning is an effective way to get vitamin D. Compared to those who disagreed or were neutral, those who thought it was effective were more likely to be outdoor tanners (45.1% vs. 28.5%; P < 0.001) and indoor tanners (13.8% vs 1.9%; P < 0.001). Beliefs about vitamin D were associated with skin cancer risk-related behaviors. Including information about vitamin D in skin cancer prevention messages may be beneficial.

Intentional outdoor tanning in the United States: Results from the 2015 Summer ConsumerStyles survey

“…Analysis of this data was exempt from institutional review board approval because CDC did not engaged in human research and personal identifiers were not included in the data file. Additional information about the study sample can be found in a previous study using the 2015 Summer ConsumerStyles data (Holman et al, 2017). …”

Health Beliefs About UV and Skin Cancer Risk Behaviors

“…Recently only 43.1% of US adults agreed that vitamin D sufficiency is possible by diet and supplementation alone, a belief that was associated with increased sun protection. 9 In contrast, the belief that tanning effectively increases vitamin D was associated with increased indoor and outdoor tanning. Further, seasonal depressive symptoms have been documented in 80% of frequent indoor tanners.…”

Older Adults’ Beliefs, Knowledge and Preferences for Achieving Healthy Vitamin D Status: A Narrative Review

“…A large study ( n = 4127) conducted in the USA explored the interaction between vitamin D beliefs and skin cancer risk-related activities. This was a cross-sectional retrospective study using online survey data derived from a larger study [20]. Approximately 20% of participants were 55–64 y/o, and 20% were 65 y/o+.…”

“…Although in most studies a significant proportion of older adults could identify some dietary vitamin D sources, and in selected studies older people were more knowledgeable about food sources of vitamin D compared with younger participants (for example [15,16,17,18]), a significant number of older people misidentified certain foods as good sources of vitamin D, or assumed that a “balanced diet” would ensure adequate intake of vitamin D [26]. The finding in one large study conducted in the USA that the majority of older adults surveyed felt that their diet and vitamins provide adequate vitamin D, whilst multiple national dietary surveys have consistently documented both low intakes and low blood levels in a significant minority of older adults, also suggests misinformation about vitamin D containing foods [20]. Low vitamin D status is a persistent problem amongst older adults, and in order to enable older adults to make informed choices to improve dietary intake, healthcare professionals and public health bodies need to develop dietary guidelines that clearly identify vitamin D rich foods, and effective communication strategies for disseminating these guidelines specifically targeted towards older people.…”