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Intuitively, based on what you're saying people around the Mediterranean (to take one region with a lot of Sun) should be dropping like flies due to these dange

Intuitively, based on what you're saying people around the Mediterranean (to take one region with a lot of Sun) should be dropping like flies due to these dangers you outline. Why don't they have a mortality rate affected by skin or other cancers? The Anglo world has been studying their diets due to the opposite perception.

YSFEJ4SWJUVU6 9y ago
>Why don't they have a mortality rate affected by skin or other cancers? Do you have a source for that? A source that compares people from further North living in the Mediterranean region compared to further North for skin cancer?
- egypturnash 9y ago
  So I just typed "skin cancer mortality rate by region" into DuckDuckGo and here are a few results from the first page: the CDC on US Skin Cancer Rates By State: https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/skin/statistics/state.htm https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/skin/statistics/state.htm - if you squint there sure is a general north-south gradient, with LESS skin cancer in the South. Also note that "Melanoma is much more common among non-Hispanic whites than people of other races and ethnicities. More than 9 out of 10 cases of melanoma are diagnosed in non-Hispanic whites." Forbes on "skin cancer hotspots of the world": https://www.forbes.com/2008/07/28/skin-cancer-hotspots-forbeslife-cx_avd_0728health.html#5ee6ece4142 https://www.forbes.com/2008/07/28/skin-cancer-hotspots-forbe... relevant excerpt: "Studies have shown that while there is generally an increase in the incidence of melanoma as latitude decreases (closer to the equator), mortality from melanoma is four to six times higher in Nordic countries than in Mediterranean countries, according to the WHO." It then goes on to talk about cultural differences that essentially boil down to "people raised in sunny places get taught strategies for dealing with lots of sun". You could probably find better studies, this is just five minutes of searching.
  - ianai 9y ago
    I’ve reduced what I’ve read about cancer and skin cancer down to the following: Cancer is essentially triggered by damage to cellular DNA which results in a “pathological” strand. That strand then multiplies throughout our bodies through cell regrowth with the pathological DNA. Sun light “flips the dice” with our skin cell DNA, among just generally harming our skin. Some people go their whole lives without any pathological DNA damage, and others not so much. The skin cells of Caucasians have little to no natural defense to the sun’s rays. Add as an anecdote: I saw a documentary with a girl born without any pigment (I think?). I forget the exact specifics. But she has to walk around in a 100% UV blocking hood and completely covering draped clothing when the sun is out. If any UV touches her skin she will get cancer then and there. She had a hole in the fabric of one of her hoods as a toddler and they had to do things to counteract that (I think they cut away that skin).
metaobject 9y ago
Presumably because evolution has selected genetic mutations which have provided protection against the amount of UV radiation people get in those geographic areas.
egypturnash 9y ago
Don't forget behavior. You grow up in a sunny place, you learn the joys of sun-hats, parasols, and assorted other strategies as succinctly documented in Noel Coward's 1931 song "Mad Dogs & Englishmen"[1]. 1: http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/folk-song-lyrics/Mad_Dogs_and_Englishmen.htm http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/folk-song-lyrics/Mad_Dogs_...
nabla9 9y ago
> Why don't they have a mortality rate affected by skin or other cancers? What makes you assume that they don't? Burden of cancer in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, 2005–2015: findings from the Global Burden of Disease 2015. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00038-017-0999-9 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00038-017-0999-9
- pm 9y ago
  It doesn't say how much of that is associated with skin cancer, which is the cancer you're talking about.
lostlogin 9y ago
Mediterranean sun is relatively benign. I am pale and used to have red hair. A full day in summer Mediterranean sun and I get a mild burn. If I go 20 minutes in New Zealand I’m toast, and mid summer it’s less than that. Even cloudy days can burn you easily here, and I’ve been burn in rainy days too. Ozone makes a hell of a lot of difference.

YSFEJ4SWJUVU6 9y ago

>Why don't they have a mortality rate affected by skin or other cancers? Do you have a source for that? A source that compares people from further North living in the Mediterranean region compared to further North for skin cancer?

egypturnash 9y ago
So I just typed "skin cancer mortality rate by region" into DuckDuckGo and here are a few results from the first page: the CDC on US Skin Cancer Rates By State: https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/skin/statistics/state.htm https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/skin/statistics/state.htm - if you squint there sure is a general north-south gradient, with LESS skin cancer in the South. Also note that "Melanoma is much more common among non-Hispanic whites than people of other races and ethnicities. More than 9 out of 10 cases of melanoma are diagnosed in non-Hispanic whites." Forbes on "skin cancer hotspots of the world": https://www.forbes.com/2008/07/28/skin-cancer-hotspots-forbeslife-cx_avd_0728health.html#5ee6ece4142 https://www.forbes.com/2008/07/28/skin-cancer-hotspots-forbe... relevant excerpt: "Studies have shown that while there is generally an increase in the incidence of melanoma as latitude decreases (closer to the equator), mortality from melanoma is four to six times higher in Nordic countries than in Mediterranean countries, according to the WHO." It then goes on to talk about cultural differences that essentially boil down to "people raised in sunny places get taught strategies for dealing with lots of sun". You could probably find better studies, this is just five minutes of searching.
- ianai 9y ago
  I’ve reduced what I’ve read about cancer and skin cancer down to the following: Cancer is essentially triggered by damage to cellular DNA which results in a “pathological” strand. That strand then multiplies throughout our bodies through cell regrowth with the pathological DNA. Sun light “flips the dice” with our skin cell DNA, among just generally harming our skin. Some people go their whole lives without any pathological DNA damage, and others not so much. The skin cells of Caucasians have little to no natural defense to the sun’s rays. Add as an anecdote: I saw a documentary with a girl born without any pigment (I think?). I forget the exact specifics. But she has to walk around in a 100% UV blocking hood and completely covering draped clothing when the sun is out. If any UV touches her skin she will get cancer then and there. She had a hole in the fabric of one of her hoods as a toddler and they had to do things to counteract that (I think they cut away that skin).

metaobject 9y ago

Presumably because evolution has selected genetic mutations which have provided protection against the amount of UV radiation people get in those geographic areas.

egypturnash 9y ago

Don't forget behavior. You grow up in a sunny place, you learn the joys of sun-hats, parasols, and assorted other strategies as succinctly documented in Noel Coward's 1931 song "Mad Dogs & Englishmen"[1]. 1: http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/folk-song-lyrics/Mad_Dogs_and_Englishmen.htm http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/folk-song-lyrics/Mad_Dogs_...

nabla9 9y ago

> Why don't they have a mortality rate affected by skin or other cancers? What makes you assume that they don't? Burden of cancer in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, 2005–2015: findings from the Global Burden of Disease 2015. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00038-017-0999-9 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00038-017-0999-9

pm 9y ago
It doesn't say how much of that is associated with skin cancer, which is the cancer you're talking about.

lostlogin 9y ago

Mediterranean sun is relatively benign. I am pale and used to have red hair. A full day in summer Mediterranean sun and I get a mild burn. If I go 20 minutes in New Zealand I’m toast, and mid summer it’s less than that. Even cloudy days can burn you easily here, and I’ve been burn in rainy days too. Ozone makes a hell of a lot of difference.