Ambient solar UV radiation and seasonal trends in potential sunburn risk among schoolchildren in South Africa

Background. The detrimental effects of excess personal solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation exposure include sunburn, immunosuppression and skin cancer. In South Africa, individuals with minimum natural protection from melanin, including fair-skinned individuals and African albinos, and people spending...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:SAJCH : the South African journal of child health Vol. 5; no. 2; pp. 33 - 38
Main Authors: Wright, C.Y., Coetzee, G., Ncongwane, K.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Health and Medical Publishing Group (HMPG) 01.07.2011
Health & Medical Publishing Group
Subjects:
Elementary school students
Health aspects
Risk factors
Skin cancer
Ultraviolet radiation
South Africa
ISSN:1994-3032, 1999-7671
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Abstract Background. The detrimental effects of excess personal solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation exposure include sunburn, immunosuppression and skin cancer. In South Africa, individuals with minimum natural protection from melanin, including fair-skinned individuals and African albinos, and people spending extended unprotected periods outdoors are at risk of sunburn, a risk factor for skin cancer. Sunburn becomes increasingly likely during the high solar UV radiation hours around midday, and previous studies have shown that children are exposed to potentially high, sunburn-causing solar UV radiation levels while at school. Method. To estimate national potential child sunburn risk patterns, monitored ambient solar UV radiation levels at six sites in South Africa were converted into possible schoolchild solar UV radiation exposures by calculating the theoretical child exposure to 5% of the total daily ambient solar UV radiation as derived from personal child exposure studies. Results. Schoolgoing children with skin types I, II and III were identified as being at greatest risk of sunburn. There were 44 and 99 days in a year when schoolchildren with skin type III (moderately sensitive) living in Durban and De Aar, respectively, would be likely to experience sunburn. Schoolchildren with skin type I (extremely sensitive) were at risk of experiencing sunburn on 166 days in De Aar, and those with skin types I and II were at risk on at least 1 day per year at all six locations. Conclusion. Seasonal patterns show that schoolchildren with sensitive skin types may experience sunburn in spring, summer and autumn months. Differences in child sunburn risk were evident, mainly due to latitude and atmospheric aerosols. Additional factors affecting sunburn risk include schoolchildren's use of sun protection, sun-exposed activity, and timing and duration of exposure. Understanding risk patterns and obtaining locally relevant information will assist South African skin cancer prevention and sun protection awareness campaigns.
AbstractList Background. The detrimental effects of excess personal solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation exposure include sunburn, immunosuppression and skin cancer. In South Africa, individuals with minimum natural protection from melanin, including fair-skinned individuals and African albinos, and people spending extended unprotected periods outdoors are at risk of sunburn, a risk factor for skin cancer. Sunburn becomes increasingly likely during the high solar UV radiation hours around midday, and previous studies have shown that children are exposed to potentially high, sunburn-causing solar UV radiation levels while at school. Method. To estimate national potential child sunburn risk patterns, monitored ambient solar UV radiation levels at six sites in South Africa were converted into possible schoolchild solar UV radiation exposures by calculating the theoretical child exposure to 5% of the total daily ambient solar UV radiation as derived from personal child exposure studies. Results. Schoolgoing children with skin types I, II and III were identified as being at greatest risk of sunburn. There were 44 and 99 days in a year when schoolchildren with skin type III (moderately sensitive) living in Durban and De Aar, respectively, would be likely to experience sunburn. Schoolchildren with skin type I (extremely sensitive) were at risk of experiencing sunburn on 166 days in De Aar, and those with skin types I and II were at risk on at least 1 day per year at all six locations. Conclusion. Seasonal patterns show that schoolchildren with sensitive skin types may experience sunburn in spring, summer and autumn months. Differences in child sunburn risk were evident, mainly due to latitude and atmospheric aerosols. Additional factors affecting sunburn risk include schoolchildren's use of sun protection, sun-exposed activity, and timing and duration of exposure. Understanding risk patterns and obtaining locally relevant information will assist South African skin cancer prevention and sun protection awareness campaigns.
Audience Academic
Author Wright, C.Y.
Coetzee, G.
Ncongwane, K.
Author_xml – sequence: 1
  givenname: C.Y.
  surname: Wright
  fullname: Wright, C.Y.
– sequence: 2
  givenname: G.
  surname: Coetzee
  fullname: Coetzee, G.
– sequence: 3
  givenname: K.
  surname: Ncongwane
  fullname: Ncongwane, K.
BookMark eNptkU9LAzEQxRepYFv9DgFB8LCS3ey_HEupWhUUtF6XySbpRneTspMFP76p9WBB5jDDzO-9w5tZNLHOqpNomnDO47Iok8nPnMWMsvQsmiF-UFrQrKqmUb_ohVHWE3QdDGTzTgaQBrxxloCVBBWgs9ARPygrkRhLds4HgQk7HK0YB0sGg58Eeme3BJvWua5pTSeDYI-_utG3ZKEH08B5dKqhQ3Xx2-fR5nb1tryPn57v1svFU7xlrPRxqaUAzrIqS3XJSpXkDRU8ByVSyVMtq4ZRLbgquaSMVXmhhZBFkVSguaJQsnl0efDdQqdqY7XzAzS9waZepEWSMpYWNFA3_1ChpOpNEzLUJuyPBNdHgsB49eW3MCLWjy_rY_bqD9sq6HwbMh73yeIxyA8ggjBW-RpB7UZRt97vsG5lV7fhEcFjf0tontJ69bAssirJ2Tend5dc
ContentType Journal Article
Copyright COPYRIGHT 2011 Health & Medical Publishing Group
Copyright_xml – notice: COPYRIGHT 2011 Health & Medical Publishing Group
DBID AEIZH
JRA
KPI
DatabaseName Sabinet:Open Access
Sabinet Open Access Journals
Gale In Context: Global Issues
DatabaseTitleList


DeliveryMethod fulltext_linktorsrc
Discipline Medicine
EISSN 1999-7671
EndPage 38
ExternalDocumentID A261233260
https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC64815
GeographicLocations South Africa
GeographicLocations_xml – name: South Africa
GroupedDBID -OY
1RG
4JU
53G
5VS
AAFWJ
ABDBF
ACUHS
ADBBV
AEGXH
AEIZH
AFPKN
ALMA_UNASSIGNED_HOLDINGS
ANHLU
BAIFH
BAWUL
BBTPI
BCNDV
DIK
E3Z
EBS
EJD
ESX
F5P
FRP
GROUPED_DOAJ
GX1
IAO
ICW
IHR
IHW
INH
INR
ITC
JRA
KPI
KWQ
OK1
PV9
RFP
RNS
RZL
SCD
SCSAF
SCVUT
SWNBY
TR2
W2D
EBD
TUS
ID FETCH-LOGICAL-g337t-7fdba934842f737e15c0b95aeb2d92fd8c30fb9e79d033856fbbd6618af9e0a73
ISICitedReferencesCount 5
ISICitedReferencesURI http://www.webofscience.com/api/gateway?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=Summon&SrcAuth=ProQuest&DestLinkType=CitingArticles&DestApp=WOS_CPL&KeyUT=000437034000003&url=https%3A%2F%2Fcvtisr.summon.serialssolutions.com%2F%23%21%2Fsearch%3Fho%3Df%26include.ft.matches%3Dt%26l%3Dnull%26q%3D
ISSN 1994-3032
IngestDate Tue Nov 11 10:18:42 EST 2025
Tue Nov 04 18:04:17 EST 2025
Thu Nov 13 15:48:05 EST 2025
Thu May 22 20:41:04 EDT 2025
Thu Nov 27 13:21:44 EST 2025
IsOpenAccess true
IsPeerReviewed true
IsScholarly true
Issue 2
Language English
LinkModel OpenURL
MergedId FETCHMERGED-LOGICAL-g337t-7fdba934842f737e15c0b95aeb2d92fd8c30fb9e79d033856fbbd6618af9e0a73
OpenAccessLink https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC64815
PageCount 6
ParticipantIDs gale_infotracmisc_A261233260
gale_infotracacademiconefile_A261233260
gale_incontextgauss_KPI_A261233260
gale_healthsolutions_A261233260
sabinet_saepub_https_hdl_handle_net_10520_EJC64815
PublicationCentury 2000
PublicationDate 2011-07-01
PublicationDateYYYYMMDD 2011-07-01
PublicationDate_xml – month: 07
  year: 2011
  text: 2011-07-01
  day: 01
PublicationDecade 2010
PublicationTitle SAJCH : the South African journal of child health
PublicationYear 2011
Publisher Health and Medical Publishing Group (HMPG)
Health & Medical Publishing Group
Publisher_xml – name: Health and Medical Publishing Group (HMPG)
– name: Health & Medical Publishing Group
SSID ssj0060488
Score 1.8180639
Snippet Background. The detrimental effects of excess personal solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation exposure include sunburn, immunosuppression and skin cancer. In South...
SourceID gale
sabinet
SourceType Aggregation Database
Publisher
StartPage 33
SubjectTerms Elementary school students
Health aspects
Risk factors
Skin cancer
Ultraviolet radiation
Title Ambient solar UV radiation and seasonal trends in potential sunburn risk among schoolchildren in South Africa
URI https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC64815
Volume 5
WOSCitedRecordID wos000437034000003&url=https%3A%2F%2Fcvtisr.summon.serialssolutions.com%2F%23%21%2Fsearch%3Fho%3Df%26include.ft.matches%3Dt%26l%3Dnull%26q%3D
hasFullText 1
inHoldings 1
isFullTextHit
isPrint
journalDatabaseRights – providerCode: PRVAON
  databaseName: DOAJ Directory of Open Access Journals
  customDbUrl:
  eissn: 1999-7671
  dateEnd: 20171231
  omitProxy: false
  ssIdentifier: ssj0060488
  issn: 1994-3032
  databaseCode: DOA
  dateStart: 20070101
  isFulltext: true
  titleUrlDefault: https://www.doaj.org/
  providerName: Directory of Open Access Journals
link http://cvtisr.summon.serialssolutions.com/2.0.0/link/0/eLvHCXMwtV1Na9wwEBWb0JZeQj9pmrQVpdCDcXEs27KOi0kJSbsEmg25GdmSNoFEG9beNOTXVyPJjk1zSA-9mMUevMZvVpqZffMGoS8VrSlRxOQmiczDJMtUmEsmQ2libamEoFJYEdcfdDbLz87Y8WRy1_XC3FxSrfPbW3b9X6E25wzY0Dr7D3D3NzUnzGcDujka2M3xUcBPryrocQwaSFqD-WmwAvmBtqMdQ1Gwo5h7Nuz1sgXOEHSOrEEJQTvCuZtD1FiZzr7n25jbqXuBGzA0jG1_TQ-Lg6Ajigyt9FCgwt7K91_-XSMovvWxdbGU7Z3jCfUDwGYmfV_89vzco2HJAmqwdFiy8A1W4Nrdv1EP1tzcigzaxWafHS3Z6cAz48Hy6zQ1xqraR8cPqWpPQTqNmNg12kAbJEq6ZNzt4Rmsa5aP4L-837CfgvCxlu0gCDl5gbZ89oCnDvWXaCL1K_Tsp-dHvEZXHnxswcfzU9yDjw34uAMfO_DxhcY9-NiDjwF8bMHHY_DB3MKKHaxv0Pz7_klxEPqBGuGCENqGVImKM5LkSawooXIvraOKpVxWsWCxEnlNIlUxSZmICMnTTFWVMAFczhWTEafkLdrUSy3fISx5wiOZiErUPGE5NWlPVGUiqdOa8oiJbfQJXljpvKn_XZX3730bfbYWIEKigeW04OumKQ1cI6Ov3kgt2xWvuW8aMQ8BumUjy92RpVkl69Hl2CNXNhzaTW0_W1Oei8vS6ZmUcG0PaGHl_mGRgYjR-8c84g56fu_ju2izXa3lB_SkvmkvmtVH61Z_ANkYoSQ
linkProvider Directory of Open Access Journals
openUrl ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info%3Aofi%2Fenc%3AUTF-8&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fsummon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=Ambient+solar+UV+radiation+and+seasonal+trends+in+potential+sunburn+risk+among+schoolchildren+in+South+Africa&rft.jtitle=SAJCH+%3A+the+South+African+journal+of+child+health&rft.au=Wright%2C+C.Y&rft.au=Coetzee%2C+G&rft.au=Ncongwane%2C+K&rft.date=2011-07-01&rft.pub=Health+%26+Medical+Publishing+Group&rft.issn=1994-3032&rft.volume=5&rft.issue=2&rft.spage=33&rft.externalDBID=KPI&rft.externalDocID=A261233260
thumbnail_l http://covers-cdn.summon.serialssolutions.com/index.aspx?isbn=/lc.gif&issn=1994-3032&client=summon
thumbnail_m http://covers-cdn.summon.serialssolutions.com/index.aspx?isbn=/mc.gif&issn=1994-3032&client=summon
thumbnail_s http://covers-cdn.summon.serialssolutions.com/index.aspx?isbn=/sc.gif&issn=1994-3032&client=summon