Sunburns and risk of cutaneous melanoma, does age matter: a comprehensive meta-analysis https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2873840/ https://www.ncbi.

Sunburns and risk of cutaneous melanoma, does age matter: a comprehensive meta-analysis https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2873840/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2873840/ After reviewing over 1300 article titles and evaluating 270 articles in detail, we pooled ORs from 51 independent study populations for “ever” sunburned and risk of cutaneous melanoma. Among these, 26 studies reported results from dose-response analyses. Dose-response analyses were examined using both fixed-effects models and Bayesian random-effects models. Results: An increased risk of melanoma was seen with increasing number of sunburns for all time-periods (childhood, adolescence, adulthood and lifetime). In an attempt to understand how risk between life-periods compares, we also report these same linear models on a scale of 5 sunburns per decade for each life-period. The magnitude of risk for 5 sunburns per decade is highest for adult and lifetime sunburns. Conclusions: Overall, these results show an increased risk of melanoma with increasing number of sunburns during all life-periods, not just childhood. Prevention efforts should focus on reducing sunburns during all life-periods.