Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Public Health Reports logoLink to Public Health Reports
. 2003 Nov-Dec;118(6):540–549. doi: 10.1016/S0033-3549(04)50290-X

Correlates of sunburn experiences among U.S. adults: results of the 2000 National Health Interview Survey.

H Irene Hall 1, Mona Saraiya 1, Trevor Thompson 1, Anne Hartman 1, Karen Glanz 1, Barbara Rimer 1
PMCID: PMC1497591  PMID: 14563911

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine the rate of sunburns in the U.S. adult population and the correlates of sunburns. METHODS: Data from the 2000 National Health Interview Survey Cancer Control Module were used to calculate the number of sunburns (0, 1, 2, or > or = 3) experienced during the past year by age, sex, race/ethnicity, and skin sensitivity to sun exposure. The relationship between no sunburns vs. one or more sunburns and additional demographic, health, and behavioral factors for adults who self-identify as white Hispanic or white non-Hispanic was assessed using general linear contrasts. Multivariate logistic regression modeling was conducted to determine the most important covariates associated with sunburns. All analyses were weighted for the complex sampling design. RESULTS: The study data suggest that overall, 18.5% (95% confidence interval [CI] 17.9, 19.1) of U.S. adults experience one sunburn a year, 9.7% (95% CI 9.3, 10.1) experience two, and 8.0% (95% CI 7.6, 8.4) experience > or = 3 sunburns. The data also indicate that adults who self-identify as white non-Hispanic experience sunburns more frequently than (in order of prevalence) those who identify as American Indian/Alaska Native, white Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, or black. Sunburns were found to be more common among men than among women, more common among younger age groups than among older age groups, and more common among those with skin more prone to sunburn than among those with skin less prone to sunburn. Among individuals who self-identify as white Hispanic or white non-Hispanic, protective behaviors associated with lower rates of one or more sunburns in multivariate analyses are staying in the shade (odds ratio [OR] 0.73, 95% CI 0.66, 0.80) and wearing long-sleeved shirts (OR 0.86, 95% CI 0.75, 0.99). CONCLUSIONS: Many American adults have one or more sunburns per year. Methods to protect from sun exposure may not be used as needed to prevent sunburn.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (85.1 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Ainsworth B. E., Haskell W. L., Whitt M. C., Irwin M. L., Swartz A. M., Strath S. J., O'Brien W. L., Bassett D. R., Jr, Schmitz K. H., Emplaincourt P. O. Compendium of physical activities: an update of activity codes and MET intensities. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2000 Sep;32(9 Suppl):S498–S504. doi: 10.1097/00005768-200009001-00009. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Autier P., Doré J. F., Négrier S., Liénard D., Panizzon R., Lejeune F. J., Guggisberg D., Eggermont A. M. Sunscreen use and duration of sun exposure: a double-blind, randomized trial. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1999 Aug 4;91(15):1304–1309. doi: 10.1093/jnci/91.15.1304. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Baade P. D., Balanda K. P., Lowe J. B. Changes in skin protection behaviors, attitudes, and sunburn: in a population with the highest incidence of skin cancer in the world. Cancer Detect Prev. 1996;20(6):566–575. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Blizzard L., Dwyer T., Ashbolt R. Changes in self-reported skin type associated with experience of sunburning in 14-15 year old children of northern European descent. Melanoma Res. 1997 Aug;7(4):339–346. doi: 10.1097/00008390-199708000-00010. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Elwood J. M., Jopson J. Melanoma and sun exposure: an overview of published studies. Int J Cancer. 1997 Oct 9;73(2):198–203. doi: 10.1002/(sici)1097-0215(19971009)73:2<198::aid-ijc6>3.0.co;2-r. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Hall H. I., May D. S., Lew R. A., Koh H. K., Nadel M. Sun protection behaviors of the U.S. white population. Prev Med. 1997 Jul-Aug;26(4):401–407. doi: 10.1006/pmed.1997.0168. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Hall H. I., Rogers J. D. Sun protection behaviors among African Americans. Ethn Dis. 1999 Winter;9(1):126–131. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Hill D., White V., Marks R., Theobald T., Borland R., Roy C. Melanoma prevention: behavioral and nonbehavioral factors in sunburn among an Australian urban population. Prev Med. 1992 Sep;21(5):654–669. doi: 10.1016/0091-7435(92)90072-p. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Huncharek Michael, Kupelnick Bruce. Use of topical sunscreens and the risk of malignant melanoma: a meta-analysis of 9067 patients from 11 case-control studies. Am J Public Health. 2002 Jul;92(7):1173–1177. doi: 10.2105/ajph.92.7.1173. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Kirkpatrick C. S., White E., Lee J. A. Case-control study of malignant melanoma in Washington State. II. Diet, alcohol, and obesity. Am J Epidemiol. 1994 May 1;139(9):869–880. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a117093. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Kricker A., Armstrong B. K., English D. R., Heenan P. J. Does intermittent sun exposure cause basal cell carcinoma? a case-control study in Western Australia. Int J Cancer. 1995 Feb 8;60(4):489–494. doi: 10.1002/ijc.2910600411. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Miller D. L., Weinstock M. A. Nonmelanoma skin cancer in the United States: incidence. J Am Acad Dermatol. 1994 May;30(5 Pt 1):774–778. doi: 10.1016/s0190-9622(08)81509-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Newman W. G., Agro A. D., Woodruff S. I., Mayer J. A. A survey of recreational sun exposure of residents of San Diego, California. Am J Prev Med. 1996 May-Jun;12(3):186–194. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Purdue M. P., Marrett L. D., Peters L., Rivers J. K. Predictors of sunburn among Canadian adults. Prev Med. 2001 Oct;33(4):305–312. doi: 10.1006/pmed.2001.0888. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Robinson J. K., Rigel D. S., Amonette R. A. Trends in sun exposure knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors: 1986 to 1996. J Am Acad Dermatol. 1997 Aug;37(2 Pt 1):179–186. doi: 10.1016/s0190-9622(97)80122-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Saraiya Mona, Hall H. Irene, Uhler Robert J. Sunburn prevalence among adults in the United States, 1999. Am J Prev Med. 2002 Aug;23(2):91–97. doi: 10.1016/s0749-3797(02)00461-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Shoveller J. A., Lovato C. Y., Peters L., Rivers J. K. Canadian National Survey on Sun Exposure & Protective Behaviours: adults at leisure. Cancer Prev Control. 1998 Jun;2(3):111–116. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Vainio H., Miller A. B., Bianchini F. An international evaluation of the cancer-preventive potential of sunscreens. Int J Cancer. 2000 Dec 1;88(5):838–842. doi: 10.1002/1097-0215(20001201)88:5<838::aid-ijc25>3.0.co;2-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Willett W. C., Dietz W. H., Colditz G. A. Guidelines for healthy weight. N Engl J Med. 1999 Aug 5;341(6):427–434. doi: 10.1056/NEJM199908053410607. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Public Health Reports are provided here courtesy of SAGE Publications

RESOURCES