[Sun exposure behavior of children between 3-15 years of age living in Montpellier].

Objective: Increasing prevalence of skin cancer over the past few decades and their relationship with childhood sun exposure, show that educational campaigns on sun protection are urgently needed. The aim of this study is to estimate the degree of children's sun exposure in the south of France (43 degrees latitude north) and to study sun protection behaviors according to phenotypic characteristics.
Population and Methods: The population was a randomly selected sample of 573 schoolchildren between 3 and 15 years of age living in Montpellier. The questionnaire provided information about sociodemographic characteristics, summer sun exposure and sun protection. Phenotypic characteristics, reactivity to sunlight and number of sunburns since birth were also reported.
Results: Exposure time was very high: half of children spend over 6 hours per day outside in summer. The youngest children were the most protected either by sunscreen, or by shirt. On the beach, sunscreens were used more than half of the time of exposure by 70 p. 100 of the children. At the swimming pool, sunscreens were used by 45 p. 100 of the children and only by 14 p. 100 of them during other outdoor activities. A tee-shirt was only wore by 50 p. 100 of the children when playing on the beach, and by 75 p. 100 of them at the swimming pool. In addition, the application of sunscreen varied by body site. The adolescents, although they were exposed less than the youngest children, were very poorly protected. Light skinned children who do not tan easily had highest risk of sunburns, although they were generally more protected.
Conclusion: The parents are able to identify highly sensitive children according to phenotype, but in practice the use of sunscreens and tee-shirt is very low. Parents and adolescents must be the target population but also insufficiently protected children. Health education at school must be an important measure for prevention.