Solar ultraviolet radiation: properties, characteristics and amounts observed in Brazil and South America

Abstract

The beneficial and harmful effects of human exposure to solar ultraviolet radiation (UV-R) are topics that arouse great interest not only among physicians and scientists, but also the general public and the media. Currently, discussions on vitamin D synthesis (beneficial effect) are confronted with the high and growing number of new cases of non-melanoma skin cancer and other diseases of the skin and eyes (harmful effect) diagnosed each year in Brazil. However, the lack of scientific knowledge on the UV-R in Brazil and South America leads to adoption of protective measures based on studies conducted in Europe and USA, where the amounts of UV-R available at surface and the sun-exposure habits and characteristics of the population are significantly different from those observed in Brazil. In order to circumvent this problem, the Brazilian Society of Dermatology recently published the Brazilian Consensus of Photoprotection based on recent studies performed locally. The main goal of this article is to provide detailed educational information on the main properties and characteristics of UV-R and UV index in a simple language. It also provides: a) a summary of UV-R measurements recently performed in Brazil; b) a comparison with those performed in Europe; and, c) an evaluation to further clarify the assessment of potential harm and health effects owing to chronic exposures.

Microbiological Decontamination of Water: Improving the Solar Disinfection Technique (SODIS) with the Use of Nontoxic Vital Dye Methylene Blue

“…1. These results corroborate with data obtained by Corrêa (2015), who measured UV-A irradiance in southern Brazil (29 S, 53 W) (24). The MB bleaching occurs maximally under illumination with wavelengths comprised between 400 and 880 nm (25).…”

Canine tarsal gland epitheliomas and adenomas: a retrospective study of 290 cases in Brazil

“…UVIs observed in Brazil are high (between 5 and 11 or higher), reaching the highest UVI scales reported by the World Health Organization (WHO) (3). The Brazilian UVIs are similar to the Australian ones, being much higher than those observed in countries of the northern hemisphere (3,5), since the Earth's orbit brings countries in the southern hemisphere closer to the sun the southern summer than countries in the northern hemisphere during northern summer (5). Therefore, the authors believe that it would be interesting to investigate the prevalence of both types of canine eyelid neoplasms in other countries that experience high levels of UVIs.…”

Photoageing‐related skin changes in different age groups: a clinical evaluation by biophysical and imaging techniques

“…Correa (2015) demonstrates that the recommendations regarding sun protection based on research mainly in the U.S.A. and Europe are not adequate to the Brazilian reality. The same study showed that the solar index in the São Paulo city (Brazil) was significantly higher than that in Paris (France) .…”

“…Brazil is a country with high UV index (UVI), having an index UVI 6 in the winter solstice and reaching to UVI 13 in the summer solstice. It is located in a geographic region with a high solar incidence most of the year and thus has a tropical climate .…”