Melanoma prevalence: can medical literacy overcome the rise in UV radiation? United States as a case study

BackgroundRecent literature shows melanoma prevalence is steadily increasing, mainly due to UV radiation exposure, especially in Caucasians. Skin cancer causes $8.9 billion in direct annual cost and unmeasured indirect costs, but can be prevented by avoiding sun exposure, using protective creams, an...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Yuval Arbel, Yifat Arbel, Netanel Kerner, Miryam Kerner
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-08-01
Series:Frontiers in Public Health
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1636571/full
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850037857506295808
author Yuval Arbel
Yifat Arbel
Netanel Kerner
Miryam Kerner
Miryam Kerner
author_facet Yuval Arbel
Yifat Arbel
Netanel Kerner
Miryam Kerner
Miryam Kerner
author_sort Yuval Arbel
collection DOAJ
description BackgroundRecent literature shows melanoma prevalence is steadily increasing, mainly due to UV radiation exposure, especially in Caucasians. Skin cancer causes $8.9 billion in direct annual cost and unmeasured indirect costs, but can be prevented by avoiding sun exposure, using protective creams, and regular dermatologists visits for suspicious nevi.MethodsUsing CDC data on non-Hispanic Caucasians, we conducted an Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) to examine the differences in age-adjusted melanoma incidence rates per 100,000. Quadratic Poisson, Ordinary Least Square (OLS) and Two-Stage Least Squares (TSLS) regressions were employed, with UV index and education levels—measured by the percentage of the population holding at least a bachelor’s degree—as key explanatory variables.ConclusionFrom a public policy standpoint, raising awareness about sun exposure protection and encouraging regular examinations by professional dermatologists, especially in sparsely populated areas with high UV radiation—could be crucial in reducing the remarkable costs associated with melanoma morbidity and treatment.
format Article
id doaj-art-e78f9e5463594bda9cc5b4f64dc126d2
institution DOAJ
issn 2296-2565
language English
publishDate 2025-08-01
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
record_format Article
series Frontiers in Public Health
spelling doaj-art-e78f9e5463594bda9cc5b4f64dc126d22025-08-20T02:56:44ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Public Health2296-25652025-08-011310.3389/fpubh.2025.16365711636571Melanoma prevalence: can medical literacy overcome the rise in UV radiation? United States as a case studyYuval Arbel0Yifat Arbel1Netanel Kerner2Miryam Kerner3Miryam Kerner4Sir Harry Solomon School of Economics and Management, Western Galilee College, Acre, IsraelDepartment of Mathematics, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, IsraelFaculty of Medicine, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, IsraelThe Ruth and Bruce Rapoport Faculty of Medicine, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, IsraelDepartment of Dermatology, Emek Medical Center, Afula, IsraelBackgroundRecent literature shows melanoma prevalence is steadily increasing, mainly due to UV radiation exposure, especially in Caucasians. Skin cancer causes $8.9 billion in direct annual cost and unmeasured indirect costs, but can be prevented by avoiding sun exposure, using protective creams, and regular dermatologists visits for suspicious nevi.MethodsUsing CDC data on non-Hispanic Caucasians, we conducted an Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) to examine the differences in age-adjusted melanoma incidence rates per 100,000. Quadratic Poisson, Ordinary Least Square (OLS) and Two-Stage Least Squares (TSLS) regressions were employed, with UV index and education levels—measured by the percentage of the population holding at least a bachelor’s degree—as key explanatory variables.ConclusionFrom a public policy standpoint, raising awareness about sun exposure protection and encouraging regular examinations by professional dermatologists, especially in sparsely populated areas with high UV radiation—could be crucial in reducing the remarkable costs associated with melanoma morbidity and treatment.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1636571/fullmelanoma prevalencehealth literacyknowledge spilloverUV radiationpopulation size
spellingShingle Yuval Arbel
Yifat Arbel
Netanel Kerner
Miryam Kerner
Miryam Kerner
Melanoma prevalence: can medical literacy overcome the rise in UV radiation? United States as a case study
Frontiers in Public Health
melanoma prevalence
health literacy
knowledge spillover
UV radiation
population size
title Melanoma prevalence: can medical literacy overcome the rise in UV radiation? United States as a case study
title_full Melanoma prevalence: can medical literacy overcome the rise in UV radiation? United States as a case study
title_fullStr Melanoma prevalence: can medical literacy overcome the rise in UV radiation? United States as a case study
title_full_unstemmed Melanoma prevalence: can medical literacy overcome the rise in UV radiation? United States as a case study
title_short Melanoma prevalence: can medical literacy overcome the rise in UV radiation? United States as a case study
title_sort melanoma prevalence can medical literacy overcome the rise in uv radiation united states as a case study
topic melanoma prevalence
health literacy
knowledge spillover
UV radiation
population size
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1636571/full
work_keys_str_mv AT yuvalarbel melanomaprevalencecanmedicalliteracyovercometheriseinuvradiationunitedstatesasacasestudy
AT yifatarbel melanomaprevalencecanmedicalliteracyovercometheriseinuvradiationunitedstatesasacasestudy
AT netanelkerner melanomaprevalencecanmedicalliteracyovercometheriseinuvradiationunitedstatesasacasestudy
AT miryamkerner melanomaprevalencecanmedicalliteracyovercometheriseinuvradiationunitedstatesasacasestudy
AT miryamkerner melanomaprevalencecanmedicalliteracyovercometheriseinuvradiationunitedstatesasacasestudy