Trend analysis of solar ultraviolet exposure of the Austrian population caused by holiday patterns since 1969.

Over the last few decades, a steady increase in the incidence of skin cancer has been observed. Solar ultraviolet (UV) exposure is undoubtedly one of the primary causes, and of these, holiday patterns are an intrinsic component. To assess solar UV exposure for this trend analysis, changes in holiday patterns were investigated. For Austrians, a preponderance of holidays are spent at the Mediterranean Sea. These holidays represent not only a potentially high UV exposure because of location but also because sun-intensive activities are preferred. The analysis shows an increase in solar UV exposure from all holidays of 1.6% per year. About 22% of the population spends holidays at the Mediterranean Sea, and UV exposure of the total population from these holidays has increased annually by about 3.3%. Because of the latency period, it is not possible to draw conclusions from the increase in UV exposure and the temporal trends in skin cancer. A longer time series would be necessary to do this. A direct comparison of data from other countries reporting increases in skin cancer does not seem appropriate, as levels of UV exposure vary greatly and such factors as genetic susceptibility are involved.