Infanzia e fattori di rischio per tumori della cute: Risultati di un'indagine in un'area italiana oggetto di una migrazione atipica

Objective: to evaluate the association of different phenotypes with sun sensitivity factors, sun protection behavior and ethnicity in school-age children. Design: cross sectional study in the framework of a survey of children using a self-administered questionnaire. Setting and participants: 35412 children attending primary schools in the provinces of Latina and Rome, located in the Lazio region (Italy), in the 1998-2001 time period. Main outcome measures: Odds Ratios (ORs) and their relative 95% Confidence Intervals (95% CI) computed through univariate and multivariate logistic regression models. Results: FOTO positives phenotype, a proxy variable of the fair phenotype, was directly and significantly associated with the tendency to sunburn (OR 4.64;95% CI 4.39-4.89), the presence of freckles on the face (OR 1.65;95% CI 1.55-1.77), ofnaevi on the left forearm (OR 1.18;95% CI 1.12-1.25), the number of grandparents born in northern areas (OR 1.54;95% CI 1.15-2.07, for four northern grandparents versus none), the residence in Latina Province (OR 1.13;95% CI 1.07-1.20) and the use of sunscreens (OR 1.70;95% CI 1.55-1.88). An inverse association was observed with the male sex (OR 0.91;95% CI0.86-0.96), the increase of school-class level (OR 0.66;95% CI 0.61-0.72, for the highest versus the lowest school-class level) and the ability to tan (OR 0.38;95% CI 0.34-0.42). Conclusion: These findings confirmed that fairness of phenotype is associated in children with other skin cancer risk factors as well as ethnicity and parents' sun protection behavior.