22/11/2021 - 09:00 - 18:00
PE39 - Epidemiologia genética e molecular (TODOS OS DIAS) |
33651 - SELF-REPORTED AND GENETICALLY DETERMINED PIGMENTATION AFFECTS TANNING BEHAVIOR IN UK YOUTH
CAROLINA BONILLA RICHERO - FM-USP
Skin cancer incidence has been increasing everywhere, but fair-skinned populations exhibit a higher burden. Ultraviolet radiation (UVR), the leading risk factor for skin cancer, occurs mostly through natural sunlight. However, indoor tanning using a sunbed is frequent in developed countries, especially among young people. In order to implement public health interventions that attempt to curve tanning it is crucial to understand the motivations and personal characteristics behind individual UVR exposure.
Objectives
The aim of this study was to investigate the association of pigmentation traits, reported via questionnaire and predicted using genetic variants, with tanning preferences in British young adults.
Methods
We carried out an observational study to ascertain sociodemographic and pigmentation-related determinants of outdoor and indoor tanning. Additionally, we ran a genetically-informed analysis to identify causal associations between self-reported pigmentation traits and tanning behaviour.
Results
Female sex, darker skin, rarely or never burning, experiencing a painful sunburn, and believing that indoor tanning helps prevent sunburn, were strong positive predictors of liking to tan. Conversely, participants with red hair or blue eyes were not fond of tanning. Tanning indoors using a sunbed was inversely associated with socioeconomic status growing up. Amongst the reasons given for liking to tan, the most common were about confidence, happiness, and attractiveness.
Liking to tan and outdoor tanning were clearly influenced by genetically determined pigmentation traits, yet that relationship was not as evident with indoor tanning.
Conclusions
Pigmentation traits explained young people’s outdoor tanning predisposition in a European population, although evidence was weaker for indoor tanning.
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