Sun exposure and sunburn among Swedish toddlers

Skin cancer is an emerging public health problem in Sweden. Even though the most important preventable risk factor for the development of skin cancer - sun exposure - is known, the incidence of skin cancer is still increasing. Studies have showed an association between increased risk of skin cancer and sunburn early in life. The aim of the present paper was to examine the frequency of sun exposure, sunburn and use of sun protective measures among an urban sample of Swedish toddlers. In March 2003, the parents of 4000 randomly selected children born between September 2001 and August 2002 were contacted by mail, and asked to fill out an enclosed questionnaire. The questionnaire concerned their own and their one-year-old child's sun exposure and sunburn history, and a few questions about knowledge, attitudes and protective activities were also included. One fifth of the children had been severely sunburnt at least once. Thirty-six percent of all children had been abroad on vacation to a sunny resort. More knowledge among parents increased the likelihood that the child was properly protected when in the sun, and parents own time in the sun was positively related to child's time in the sun. Being of the opinion that children look healthier when tanned was also positively associated with child sunburn. Thirty-five percent of all parents spent two hours or more in the sun during peak hours (11 a.m. - 3 p.m.) on a typical work-free day in the summer, and almost 10% of all parents had their children exposed to the sun for two hours or more during peak hours. We conclude that children in Sweden seem to get exposed to extensive sun exposure very early in life. Information and increased knowledge among parents to young children seems to be a potential way of increasing sun protection behaviour and decrease sun exposure among very young children.