Ultraviolet Radiation Exposure of Children and Adolescents in Durban, South Africa¶

Abstract

The solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) exposure of 30 children and adolescents in three age groups (4-6 years, 7-9 years and 13-14 years) was measured for 1 week in late summer (February-March) in Durban, South Africa, using UVR-sensitive polysulfone film badges (PSFB) attached to the lapel region of the body. The mean and median values for all ages over the study period were 2.0 and 1.2 standard erythemal dose (SED) units, respectively, where 1 SED = 100 J x m(-2). Individual PSFB doses were analyzed as a function of age, gender and behavior. No significant statistical differences were found between different age groups; however, there was a statistical difference between males and females, with males generally receiving higher PSFB doses. Subjects completed UVR exposure journals documenting their time outdoors, shade versus sun conditions, nature of their activities, clothing worn and their use of sunscreen for each day of the study. Activity patterns were noted as the most important factor influencing individual UVR dose. Ambient erythemal UVR was measured by a Yankee Environmental Systems UVB pyranometer, and a relationship between ambient UVR and individual UVR dose was derived. On average, subjects received a dose of 4.6% of the total daily erythemal UVR. Based on this factor, the potential dose of an individual over a full annual cycle was estimated. Accordingly, there were 139 days during the year when an individual with skin type I (light skin) would be likely to experience minimal erythema and 97 and 32 days for individuals with skin types II and III, respectively.

Solar UV exposure of children in a summer school in Valencia, Spain

“…The results of this study are somewhat different from those of Guy et al (2003), who found 2.8% ambient UVER exposure on the collarbone for 7 to 9 year-olds, during a summer in South Africa. In our study, using children with dosimeters on the shoulder, we obtained 6.7 % for 7 to 8 year-olds.…”

“…Mean ER for primary schoolchildren on summer weekdays tends to lie within a range of between 2.8-4.5% in South Africa (Guy et al 2003), and 4.6% in Australia (Kimlin et al 2001). In another work, in Japan (Ono et al 2005), the weekly mean of daily UV exposure in summer (July) was in a range of 91-170 J/m 2 .…”

“…Several groups of subjects were identified using similar age breakdowns to previous studies, such as Guy et al (2003). The three age groups were 7-8 (group 1), 9-10 (group 2), and 11-12 year-olds (group 3).…”

“…A review of some 30 studies on exposure to solar ultraviolet radiation in young people has recently been published (Wright and Reeder 2005). Some of these studies on individual solar UVER exposure used personal dosimeters on schoolchildren and adolescents (Guy et al 2003;Kimlin and Parisi 2001;Ono et al 2005;Thieden et al 2004) Although it is difficult to compare results from different studies, due to the different approaches and methods used, exposure ratio (ER) was chosen to minimize the effects of latitude and time of day. ER is defined as the ratio between the personal dose on a selected body site and the corresponding ambient dose on a horizontal plane during the same exposure period.…”

Risk factors of incident melanocytic nevi: A longitudinal study in a cohort of 1,232 young German children

“…During the follow-up period between 1998 -2001, the children acquired overall a median number of 26 MN (IQR ϭ [17,40], range ϭ 1-186). The median number of incident MN was 25 (IQR ϭ [16,38]) for girls and 28 (IQR ϭ [18,42]) for boys (p ϭ 0.003). The number of newly acquired MN was increasing with age (p Ͻ 0.001) (Fig.…”