Awarness to photodamage versus the actual use of sun protection methods by young adults

Abstract Objective There is accumulating evidence that in spite of the large campaigns against excessive solar exposure undertaken by dermatologists worldwide, children and adolescents are still spending long periods in the sun, and do not follow the recommended sun protection guidelines. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate sun exposure in a group of young Israeli adults and to compare it to their knowledge and application of the various sun protection methods. Methods 202 Caucasian volunteers, (mean age 21.4 ± 2.6), filled out detailed questionnaires on their sun exposure and sun protection habits. Results More than 80% of our study participants are regularly sun exposed for longer than 2 h per day whereas sunscreens are utilized only by 64.9%. Sunscreen use was significantly more prevalent in females than males (81.3% vs. 46.5%). The majority of sunscreen users and nonusers believed that sunscreen could prevent skin cancer (94.3% and 82.0%, respectively) and that these compounds can slow skin aging (90.8% and 76.4% respectively). The understanding of the meaning of the “SPF” was significantly higher in the sunscreen users (85%) than in the nonusers (62.0%). The majority of sunscreen users utilized less than 150 ml of the compound per year which is probably an inadequate amount for a year for full body protection. The two most common reasons for not using sunscreens regularly, were that the application is time consuming, and that sunscreens prevent tanning. Conclusion Our data reveals a discrepancy between a considerably good understanding of the need for sun protection and the still deficient application of these measures especially in young adult males.