Although places with beaches and warm-weather resorts are frequently associated with sun exposure, in Colombia it is ten inland cities that appear on the list of places where there is a greater risk associated with type B ultraviolet radiation (UVB), the type most linked to the development of skin cancer.
An epidemiological intelligence model crossed environmental, medical and demographic variables and identified the country’s most vulnerable regions. Thus, the cities with the highest risk are Bogota, Medellin, Cali, Bucaramanga, Cucuta, Tunja, Manizales, Pasto, Popayan and Neiva.
In all of them, the model found that factors such as altitude, proximity to the Equator line, weakening of the ozone layer and high population density are increasing the exposure of millions of people to this type of radiation, whose effects accumulate throughout life.
Warm or tourist cities are not those with the highest risks
The research, carried out by Axon Pharma, used solar radiation data from IDEAM, individual health service provision records (RIPS), population distribution, age, affiliation to the healthcare system and skin cancer reports to build a kind of “intelligent magnifying glass” capable of detecting the highest-risk areas.
The model made it possible to identify regions where high vulnerability is not normally expected, such as border zones with Venezuela and cities in Norte de Santander that show a high correlation between UVB radiation and skin cancer diagnoses.
One of the study’s most relevant findings is that not only warm or tourist cities face greater risks. Bogota, Tunja, Pasto and other cities located on Andean plateaus appear among the most exposed due to altitude.
The World Health Organization, through the International Agency for Research on Cancer, raised the issue as early as 1992 that solar UV radiation is a carcinogen and classified solar UV radiation as a Group 1 carcinogen (carcinogenic to humans) since 2012. Other known Group 1 carcinogens are plutonium, asbestos and ionizing radiation.
In addition, current climate changes and the reduction of the ozone layer by approximately 4% per decade since the 1970s have led to decreased filtering of UV-A and UV-B radiation and an increase in UV radiation reaching sea level. Consequently, the incidence rate of melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer is increasing worldwide.
According to the World Medical Association, WHO evidence indicates that four out of five skin cancer cases can be significantly prevented and recommends simple precautionary measures such as limiting exposure to UV rays in the midday sun, wearing UV-protective clothing and hats, or using mineral sunscreens.
With the sun, the key is finding the right balance
Photoprotection also includes makeup products, sunglasses and windshields. Preventing the harmful effects of the sun on the skin is advisable at all ages, the WMA recalls, especially among children and adolescents.
The WHO recognizes that although protection against exposure to UV rays is recommended worldwide, there is concern that lack of exposure to UV rays could reduce the beneficial effects of vitamin D, including its potential to decrease the risk of some types of cancer.
As in all aspects of life, what matters is finding the right balance. Because the sun is a great source of health benefits, but it is also important to know its harmful consequences.
Solar radiation generates biological and physiological effects in the body that depend on the proportion and intensity of the radiation and that have beneficial effects, such as stimulating vitamin D synthesis, promoting hemoglobin formation and improving mood.
Among the harmful effects, aggressive to the skin, are erythema, photoaging of the skin and precancerous or cancerous lesions. Dermatoses caused or aggravated by exposure to the sun constitute a health problem that healthcare professionals face with increasing frequency.