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UV responses in Native Hawaiians and P acific I slanders, and, A sians residing in H awai'i and in M aryland
Author(s) -
Colmenares Leticia U.,
Coelho Sergio,
Miller Sharon A.,
Boomer K. B.,
Beer Janusz Z.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
photodermatology, photoimmunology and photomedicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.736
H-Index - 60
eISSN - 1600-0781
pISSN - 0905-4383
DOI - 10.1111/phpp.12035
Subject(s) - native hawaiians , pacific islanders , geography , gerontology , demography , medicine , sociology , population
Summary Background UV exposure causes a wide range of skin damage including cutaneous melanoma. The mechanisms of cellular and molecular damage, as well as those of erythemal and pigmentation responses to UV exposure, have largely been studied in the White population. Methods This study systematically investigates responses to UV exposure in the N ative H awaiian and P acific I slander ( NHPI ) and A sian populations living in H awai'i ( A/HI ) as well as in A sians living in M aryland ( A/MD ). Results Our analyses indicate that the NHPI population is less sensitive to UV exposure than the A/HI population. Comparisons between the two A sian groups suggest that, despite slightly but not statistically different baseline constitutive pigmentation (pre‐ UV exposure), the A/HI and A/MD had similar UV sensitivity, measured as minimal erythemal dose ( MED ). However, the A/MD population had higher levels of oxyhemoglobin at doses of 2.0, 2.8 and 4.0 MED . Unexpectedly, the A/MD subjects retained higher levels of pigmentation 2 weeks post‐ UV exposure. Conclusion This study provides insight into UV responses of the inhabitants of H awai'i and shows that such responses are statistically significant for relatively small samples of NHPI and for A/HI and A/MD .