Estudo epidemiológico de queilite actínica em pescadores do litoral sul de Sergipe

Abstract

Excessive sunlight exposure can cause several forms of potentially malignant disorders, including actinic cheilitis, a precursor lesion of lip squamous cell carcinoma. The objective of this research was to investigate the actinic cheilitis prevalence among fishermen in the southern coast of Sergipe, Brazil. A cross-sectional study was carried out involving a sample (n = 210) of fishermen on this region. Data related to age, skin type, daily and accumulated solar radiation exposure time, smoking, sun protection and the presence of actinic cheilitis were collected. A Poisson regression model estimated the prevalence ratio of variables. Actinic cheilitis prevalence was 11.4% (95% CI: 7.8 - 16.4%). The disease was more prevalent in fair-skinned fishermen (PR = 3.2), aged 50 years (PR = 2.3), with a time of cumulative exposure to solar radiation more than 30 years (PR = 4.0), duration of daily exposure more than four hours (PR = 8.0) and no using of sun protection (PR = 2.1). In the presence of all independent variables, the probability of finding the disease in a fisherman in this region is 55%. This probability decreases to 6% with the use of sunscreens and with sun exposure of less than four hours daily. Fishermen working at the south coast of Sergipe constitute a population at risk for cancer of the lip, making necessary the establishment of public health policies aimed specifically to encourage the use of sun protection and a lower burden of daily exposure to solar radiation.