BACKGROUND: To prevent occupational skin cancer, it is essential that the sun-protective behavior of outdoor workers is adequate. The aim is to study the sun-protective behavior of Danish outdoor workers at work, at leisure, and on sun holiday and compare it to that of indoor workers. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study, based on a 53-item survey completed by Danish outdoor (n = 380) and indoor workers (n = 119) in 2016-2017. Status as outdoor or indoor worker was decided based on self-report and behavioral differences were tested using (paired) t tests and multiple regression adjusted for age, sex, educational level, history of smoking, and skin type. RESULTS: Danish outdoor workers at work use sun protection less than they do at leisure and on sun holiday (α < .05) where their sun protection behavior is similar to that of indoor workers. The proportion of Danish outdoor workers that always/often use sun protection at work is for shade seeking around noon 4.2%, sunscreen 34.5%, wide-brimmed hat 25.3%, and long trousers and shirt with sleeves 42.4%. Of Danish outdoor workers, 49.5% do not think about the risk of occupational skin cancer and 11.8% think the risk is insignificant, 32.4% think that the use of sun protection is of low or no importance, 84.2% consider sunburn important as skin cancer risk factor still 88.9% have a history of sunburn at work, > 80.0% agree that risk of skin cancer is reduced by the use of sun protection, and only 4.0% dismiss the possibility of sun protection use at work. CONCLUSIONS Skin cancer risk and use of sun protection at work are largely neglected in Danish outdoor workers, more so than at leisure and on sun holiday where their risk behavior resembles that of indoor workers. This indicates an untapped workplace preventive potential.
Cross-Sectional Studies ; Denmark ; Female ; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Occupational Diseases ; prevention & control ; Occupational Exposure ; prevention & control ; statistics & numerical data ; Occupational Health ; statistics & numerical data ; Risk Reduction Behavior ; Skin Neoplasms ; prevention & control ; Sunburn ; prevention & control ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Workplace ; classification ; psychology ; statistics & numerical data

BACKGROUND: Ultraviolet radiation is a major modifiable risk factor for aging and skin cancer. Studies assessing knowledge, attitudes and practices towards sun exposure and protection should be conducted on high-risk groups like the triathlete community.
OBJECTIVES: To assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding sun exposure and protection among triathletes in Manila, Cebu and Davao City. To determine if these are associated with demographic characteristics, and if knowledge and attitudes are correlated with protective practices.
METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study conducted among adult triathletes evaluating their knowledge, attitudes and practices concerning sun exposure and protection, using a self-administered e-questionnaire.
RESULTS: There were 120 respondents. Almost half of the respondents had inadequate knowledge scores, while majority (83%) had desirable attitudes. Having at least a college degree significantly increased the odds ratio of having a desirable attitude (OR 6.0, 95% CI 1.36-26.45). Only 37.5% of the participants practiced good sun protection. Triathletes with Fitzpatrick III phototype had significantly increased odds ratio of having adequate sun protection practices (OR 2.22; 95% CI 1.04-4.72), while higher socioeconomic status was associated with poor protection practices (OR 0.42, 95% CI 0.19-0.90). Only 32.5% of the participants had adequate KAP scores combined.
CONCLUSION: Even though more than half of the respondents had limited knowledge scores, most of them had desirable attitudes towards sun protection. Athletes with adequate knowledge and desirable attitude were more likely to exhibit adequate practice. These findings indicate the pressing need for public health strategies on sun protection for the triathlete community.

Human ; Male ; Female ; Aged ; Middle Aged ; Adult ; Athletes ; Attitude ; Demography ; Odds Ratio ; Philippines ; Public Health ; Risk Factors ; Skin Neoplasms ; Social Class ; Sunburn ; Ultraviolet Rays

BACKGROUND: Although sunscreen is used as a primary strategy for the prevention of sunburn, photoaging, and skin cancer, few people regularly use sunscreen. OBJECTIVE: To investigate awareness regarding the effects of sunlight, the extent of sun exposure, and sunscreen use behaviors in Korean subjects. METHODS: A questionnaire was administered to 467 adult patients who visited the Dermatology Department at Seoul National University Boramae Hospital. The questionnaire covered demographic characteristics, causes of wrinkles, sunspots, and skin cancer, awareness of the harmful effects of sun exposure, perceived and actual extent of sun exposure, and the use of sun-protective methods including sunscreen. RESULTS: Sun exposure was selected as the major cause of age spots (60.6%), skin cancer (60.9%), and wrinkles (25.9%). Respondents were likely to underestimate the extent of sun exposure. On average, quite a few respondents stated that they were exposed to sunlight for more than one hour per day (22.7% on weekdays, 52.4% on weekends). However, only 9.4% of respondents thought that their sun exposure was problematic and 62.7% of respondents considered moderate sunlight exposure healthy. Respondents' sun-protective behaviors were inadequate: only 29.8% used sunscreen regularly, and 16.5% have never used sunscreen. SPF was the most important factor in choosing sunscreen, and 83.3% used a sunscreen with a labeled SPF over 30. By contrast, only 34.6% of respondents used PA+++ sunscreen. CONCLUSION: Despite fairly good knowledge regarding the harmful effects of sunlight, subjects underestimated the risks of their sun exposure and sun-protective behaviors were suboptimal. Education on the risk of UV exposure and effects of sunscreen is still needed.
Adult ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Dermatology ; Education ; Humans ; Korea ; Seoul ; Skin Neoplasms ; Solar Activity ; Solar System* ; Sunburn ; Sunlight

OBJECTIVES: Unprotected leisure time exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun or artificial tanning beds is the most important environmental risk factor for melanoma, a malignant skin cancer with increasing incidences over the past decades. The aim of the present study was to assess the impact of skin health information provided by several sources and different publishing issues on knowledge, risk perception, and sun protective behavior of sunbathers. METHODS: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted among Austrian residents (n=563) spending leisure time outdoors in August 2010. RESULTS: Print media, television, and family were perceived as the most relevant sources of information on skin health, whereas the source physician was only ranked as fourth important source. Compared to other sources, information provided by doctors positively influenced participants' knowledge on skin risk and sun protective behavior resulting in higher scores in the knowledge test (p=0.009), higher risk perception (p<0.001), and more sun protection (p<0.001). Regarding gender differences, internet was more often used by males as health information source, whereas females were more familiar with printed information material in general. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this survey put emphasis on the demand for information provided by medical professionals in order to attain effective, long-lasting promotion of photoprotective habits.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; Health Behavior ; *Health Education ; Health Promotion ; Humans ; Male ; Melanoma/*prevention & control ; Middle Aged ; Public Health ; Questionnaires ; Risk Factors ; Skin Neoplasms/*prevention & control ; Sunburn/prevention & control ; Sunscreening Agents/therapeutic use ; Ultraviolet Rays ; Young Adult

The purpose of this article is to compare spectral-domain (SD) and time-domain (TD) optical coherence tomography (OCT) findings in patients with solar retinopathy. Complete ocular examinations and OCT were performed in two patients presenting with acute solar retinopathy soon after observation of an eclipse. Both patients were evaluated with SD-OCT and TD-OCT at the same time. SD-OCT demonstrated characteristic defects at the level of the inner and outer segment junction of the photoreceptors in all the affected eyes and decreased reflectiveness of the retinal pigment epithelium layer. TD-OCT images showed unremarkable findings in two eyes with deteriorated visual acuity. SD-OCT improves diagnosis and assessment of the degree and nature of foveal damage in patients with solar retinopathy and may be an important tool for use in identifying foveal damage not detected by TD-OCT. SD-OCT may be preferable to TD-OCT for confirmation or assessment of the degree of foveal damage in patients with solar retinopathy.
Child ; Eye Burns/complications/*diagnosis ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Male ; Retina/pathology/*radiation effects ; Retinal Diseases/*diagnosis/etiology ; Sunburn/complications/*diagnosis ; Time Factors ; Tomography, Optical Coherence/*methods ; Trauma Severity Indices ; Visual Acuity ; Visual Fields ; Young Adult

Since its first description in 1887 as the appearance of psoriatic lesions in the uninvolved skin of psoriatic patients as a consequence of trauma, the Koebner phenomenon has been described in numerous diseases. Several types of injury can trigger the Koebner phenomenon, such as physical injury, surgical wound, irritation, sunburn, or radiation therapy. In this report, we describe a 43-year-old woman who developed erythema multiforme which was accompanied by the Koebner phenomenon after getting acupuncture and cupping glass therapy. The purpose of the report is to broaden our awareness of the spectrum of injury that can trigger the Koebner phenomenon.
Acupuncture ; Adult ; Erythema ; Erythema Multiforme ; Female ; Glass ; Humans ; Intraoperative Complications ; Skin ; Sunburn

Agriculture in every industrialized country is one of the most hazardous occupations, based on occupational fatality rates, nonfatal occupational injury rates, and occupational illness rates. The fatality rate and nonfatal injury rate for agricultural workers are twice to five times higher than all occupations. Low back pain and osteoarthritis of the hip and knee are the most important occupational illness of occupational workers. these conditions are worsened by poor ergonomic working conditions, long working days, and heavy work loads. Respiratory illnesses are common problems among the agricultural work force. The most frequent cause of respiratory illness is organic dust from livestock production and handling grain or hay that may produce bronchitis, asthma-like condition, irritation of the mucosa of the upper airways and eyes, and organic dust toxic syndrome. Skin conditions may be one of the most frequently reported type of agricultural illness. The most common category of skin condition is contact dermatitis, which may occur as irritant or allergic contact dermatitis. Sunburn and miliarial rubra by Sun and heat exposure are the second most common causes of skin conditions. Overall cancer seems to be lower. However, there are several cancers for which the farming population may be at increased risk, including non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, leukemia, multiple myeloma, brain, prostate, and skin. The issue of pesticide exposure is often a dominant concern among the farming population and also noise-induced hearing loss, vibration-related injuries including Raynaud's phenomenon, and zoonotic infectious diseases.
Brain ; Bronchitis ; Communicable Diseases ; Dermatitis, Allergic Contact ; Dermatitis, Contact ; Developed Countries ; Dust ; Eye ; Handling (Psychology) ; Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced ; Hip ; Hot Temperature ; Knee ; Leukemia ; Livestock ; Low Back Pain ; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin ; Mucous Membrane ; Multiple Myeloma ; Occupational Diseases ; Occupational Injuries ; Occupations ; Osteoarthritis ; Prostate ; Skin ; Solar System ; Sunburn ; Edible Grain ; Farmers

Granuloma annulare (GA) is a benign granulomatous disease. Although its etiology is not well understood, there are some reports about GA occurring after specific conditions such as sunburn, a tuberculin test, insect bites, viral diseases and trauma. Especially, in case of the auricular region which is vulnerable to trauma, it seems that GA has some relation with trauma. In 1992, Mills and Chetty proposed that repetitive minor trauma may be an important cause of auricular GA. Among the 5 cases of auricular GA that have been reported in the English literatures, 3 cases are assumed to be associated with repetitive minor trauma. Herein, we report on two cases of auricular GA that were thought to be associated with repetitive minor trauma.
Granuloma ; Granuloma Annulare ; Insect Bites and Stings ; Sunburn ; Tuberculin Test ; Virus Diseases

Adolescent ; Adult ; Child ; Disasters ; Earthquakes ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Sunburn ; Young Adult

BACKGROUND: Ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation is a major harmful environmental factor causing cutaneous changes such as sunburn, skin aging and skin cancer. Excessive UVB irradiation induces apoptosis of keratinocytes through several molecular pathways. However, the precise molecular mechanisms have been underinvestigated. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate expression levels of apoptosis-related genes in UVB- irradiated HaCaT ketratinocyte cell lines. METHODS: Cells were irradiated by UVB at various doses (0, 100, 200 and 400 mJ/cm2). Expression levels of caspases, Bax, Bcl2, and Bcl-XL were confirmed by RT-PCR analysis and western blotting. RESULTS: Expression of cytochrome C was increased followed by activation of caspase-3, 8 and 9 in UVB-irradiated HaCaT cells. Furthermore, the expression of Bcl-XL was decreased from UVB 200 mJ/cm2 and Bcl2 was decreased weakly from UVB 400 mJ/cm2, implying that the expression of Bcl-XL is more sensitive to UVB. Interestingly, the down-regulation of Bcl-XL may be mediated by proteasome dependent pathways. CONCLUSION: Excessive UVB-irradiated HaCaT cells undergo apoptotic cell death following activation of caspases; degradation of Bcl-XL is particularly sensitive to UVB.
Apoptosis ; Caspase 3 ; Caspases ; Cell Death ; Cytochromes c ; Down-Regulation ; Keratinocytes ; Proteasome Endopeptidase Complex ; Skin Aging ; Skin Neoplasms ; Sunburn