More than 90% of sunburns occur in the first 20 years of life, and according to new research published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention (CEBP) with five or more severe sunburns at this age , is enough to increase the risk of melanoma by 80% in later years.
The study, funded by the National Institutes of Health and Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston (USA), analyzed data from 108,916 white women , since melanoma is 20 times more common in white people than in African Americans. The data had been followed for 20 years , which included a questionnaire, a family history of skin cancer, among other interesting data. Study participants underwent skin tests every two years for the entire twenty-year follow-up.
Examination of the data revealed that people who had suffered severe sunburn between the ages of 15 and 20 were at increased risk of any type of skin cancer. Specifically, 80% for melanoma and 68% for basal and squamous cell carcinoma.
“Our results suggest that exposures to the sun, both in early life and in adulthood, were predictive of skin cancers, while the risk of melanoma is mainly associated with sun exposure in the first years of life in a cohort of young people, ”says Abrar A. Qureshi, co-author of the study.
