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Melody J. Eide, MD, MPH; Martin A. Weinstock, MD, PhD

Arch Dermatol. 2005;141:477-481.

Objective  To estimate the association between UV index, latitude, and melanoma incidence in different racial and ethnic populations in a high-quality national data set.

Design  Descriptive study.

Setting  Eleven US cancer registries that constitute the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program (SEER-11).

Patients  Patients with malignant melanoma of the skin reported between 1992 and 2001.

Main Outcome Measures  Pearson correlation coefficients and regression coefficients were used to estimate the relationship of age-adjusted melanoma incidence rates (2000 US standard population) with the UV index or latitude within racial and ethnic groups.

Results  A higher mean UV index was significantly associated with an increase in melanoma incidence only in non-Hispanic whites (r = 0.85, P = .001), although a nonsignificant association was noted in Native Americans (r = 0.42, P = .20).Negative, but not significant, correlations with incidence were observed in blacks (r = –0.53, P = .10), Hispanics (r = –0.43, P = .19), and Asians (r = –0.28, P = .41).Latitude also had a significant correlation with incidence only in non-Hispanic whites (r = –0.85, P = .001). A substantial portion of the variance in registry incidence in non-Hispanic whites could be explained by the UV index (R² = 0.71, P = .001).

Conclusions  Melanoma incidence is associated with increased UV index and lower latitude only in non-Hispanic whites. No evidence to support the association of UV exposure and melanoma incidence in black or Hispanic populations was found.

Author Affiliations: Department of Community Health, Brown University (Drs Eide and Weinstock); Dermatoepidemiology Unit, Providence VA Medical Center (Drs Eide and Weinstock); and Department of Dermatology, Brown Medical School (Dr Weinstock), Providence, RI.

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