Association of Asymmetrical Facial Photodamage With Automobile Driving

Long-term sun exposure (UV-A and -B light) results in characteristic clinical changes of the skin (eg, wrinkles, lentigines, elastosis, roughness, and sallowness) collectively known as photodamage.1 We observed that a number of our patients have asymmetrical facial photodamage, with the left side of the face appearing more severely photodamaged than the right side. We postulated that this perceived left-sided predominance of severe photodamage may have arisen from exposure to UV light while driving a left-hand-drive automobile. We performed a study designed to test this hypothesis. METHODS. A total of 120 patients (age range, 43 to 81 years; mean, 62 years; 105 female and 15 male subjects) were recruited through the mail using a questionnaire that obtained the following information: age, sex, occupation, percentage of time spent as an automobile driver, number of years as a driver, number of hours driven per week, and the percentage of time driving with