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Many U.S. Adults Still Have Misconceptions About Skin Cancer Risk

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on March 26, 2025.

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, March 26, 2025 -- About two-thirds of U.S. adults report no sunburns in the past year, with significant associations seen between the number of sunburns and sociodemographic factors, according to a study recently published online in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine.

Madison Etzel, from Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, and colleagues obtained information from the 2022 Health Information National Trends Survey 6 to explore sociodemographic characteristics, cancer risk perceptions, and behaviors surrounding sunburns. Associations between the number of sunburns and sociodemographic variables were examined. Data were included for 6,252 participants who were surveyed.

The researchers found that most respondents felt very confident or completely confident about their ability to take good care of their own health (44.0 and 27.3 percent, respectively). Most respondents were somewhat or slightly worried about getting cancer and few were extremely worried about getting cancer (28.3, 27.3, and 9.1 percent, respectively). Overall, 2.1, 30.3, and 67.6 percent reported experiencing more than six, one to five, and no sunburns, respectively, in the past 12 months. Significant associations were reported between the number of sunburns and age, gender, occupation status, marital status, education, Hispanic origin, race, and income level.

"Our study underscores the importance of raising awareness about skin cancer susceptibility as we found that all sociodemographic factors were significantly linked to the number of reported sunburns in the past year," Etzel said in a statement.

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Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Posted March 2025

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