Measurements of the upper body ultraviolet exposure to golfers: non‐melanoma skin cancer risk, and the potential benefits of exposure to sunlight

Abstract

1 This is the authors' final corrected manuscript version of : Downs, Nathan, Schouten, Peter, Parisi, Alfio and Turner, Joanna (2009) Background. Geographically, Queensland presents an extreme ultraviolet exposure climate to members of the public engaged in outdoor recreational activity. The risk of developing a skin cancer or an eye disease as a result of incidental exposure to naturally occurring ultraviolet radiation in the outdoor environment is proportionately high in a Queensland population compared to fair skinned population groups residing in comparable Northern Hemisphere latitudes. In contrast to these risks, elderly members of this high growth population group have been reported to be vitamin D deficient. The risks and potential benefits of exposure to sunlight in southern Queensland are assessed in this study with respect to recreational golfing. This sport is a popular recreational activity for the Queensland population and must be played during daylight hours.

Basal and squamous cell carcinoma risks for golfers: An assessment of the influence of tee time for latitudes in the Northern and Southern hemispheres

“…The exposure interval for working days, E n (d) was fixed at 1.5 hours daily. Additionally, the exposure duration for the golfer, E g (d) was set to 4.5 hours based on playing periods listed previously (10). Annual UVE exposures (equation 2) were determined by summation of daily UVE exposures for golf playing days, normal working days and weekend and recreational days.…”

“…Many studies have detailed personal UV exposures for a range of situations (6,7,8). However for the golfing population group, being placed by necessity in the sun for extended periods of time, there remains limited information on exposure and the related skin cancer risk (9,10). To characterize UV exposure risk for a range of expected conditions, UV irradiance models have been used to provide a reasonable first approximation which can be applied to describe the likely exposures for a range of outdoor activities (11,12,13), including golf, provided the exposure of the individual is expressed relative to the ambient exposure.…”

“…By making relative comparisons, the dependence on the age of the individual can be removed (27,28). This technique was recently applied to calculate relative basal and squamous cell carcinoma risk for golfers in southern Queensland compared to office workers (10). For this research, variations in the annual UVE exposure and the associated relative skin cancer risk is calculated for single round weekly golfers playing in different latitudes in both the Southern and Northern hemispheres.…”

Solar UV exposure in construction workers in Valencia, Spain

“…High occupational UVR exposure is assumed to be associated with skin cancer (Bauer et al 2011;Downs et al, 2009;Hakansson et al, 2001;Kenborg et al, 2010;Lichte et al, 2010;Radespiel et al, 2009).…”

Erythemal ultraviolet solar radiation doses received by young skiers

“…Several studies on the frequency of skin melanomas in marathon runners 23,24 , cyclists 25 , mountain guides 26 and golfers 27,28 reinforce the belief that outdoor activities can increase the risk of skin cancer. These studies focused on adults and there is little information on the risk of UVR-associated skin cancer in children.…”