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What Factors Influence How UV Rays Affect People?

Everyone enjoys outdoor activities. Sun exposure, however, can be damaging to skin and even cause skin cancer and other skin diseases or disorders. There are three types of ultraviolet, or UV, rays: UVA (long-wave UV rays that remain constant during the day), UVB (sunburn radiation that's most intense around noon), and UVC. (short-wave UV rays created through natural and artificial means) All can be damaging to humans after prolonged exposure. There are factors, however, that cause these UV rays to affect some people more than others.

  1. Skin Type

    • Race, ethnicity, eye and hair color and the tendency toward formation of freckles and nevi (birthmarks and moles, for example) are the most common factors that influence how UV rays affect people. The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, or CCOHS, categorizes six skin types of humans, ranging from those who always burn and never tan as Type I individuals to Type VI individuals, who always tan and never burn.

    Medication

    • Increased UV ray damage may occur with the use of some medications, the CCOHS says. These include oral antibiotics, high blood pressure medicine, blood thinners, birth control pills and diuretics. In addition, a number of topical medications, such as chemical peels and ointments used to fade brown spots, cause susceptibility to damaging UV rays.

    Genetics

    • Certain genetic disorders also factor in UV ray susceptibility, the CCOHS says. For instance, xeroderma, a common dry skin condition, and albinism, a pigmentation disorder, pose greater risks to sun exposure.

    Tanning Beds

    • Tanning beds expose the skin to UVA, the so-called "tanning rays," Tanning beds, hoewever, also contain UVB rays (known as the "burning rays"). Tanning beds pose risks as UVA light penetrates the skin deeper than UVB rays, according to the American Osteopathic College of Dermatology. Tanning beds pose greater risks because they contain UVA and UVB rays.

    Age-Related

    • Too much fun in the sun when young can result in skin damage later.

      The age of an individual may be correlated with factors that influence susceptibility to UV radiation. Skin cancer is linked to severe sunburns as far back as childhood, the CCOHS says. Many times, the behavioral attitudes of adolescents cause prolonged exposure out in the sun without adequate protection or long-term consequences. Finally, as humans age, skin begins to thin causing a higher susceptibility to over-exposure to UV rays in a shorter amount of time.

    Occupational Exposure

    • People working outdoors should protect themselves against UV rays.

      People who work outdoors for prolonged periods increase their risks for UV damage, the CCOHS says, as well as people who work with coal tar, pitch, creosote, arsenic compounds or radium.

    Diseases

    • There are also numerous acquired diseases that make skin more susceptible to UV rays, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. These diseases include lupus erythematosus and polymorphous light eruption, both of which are immunological diseases. The paradox of sun exposure is that vitamin D from the sun helps immunological diseases, but overexposure can cause them.

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