The UK cities where children are most at risk of sun damage, according to survey

Children living in Southampton, Bristol and Belfast are at the highest risk of permanent sun damage in the UK, a survey claims.

Researchers at University of Manchester were commissioned by Boots Solatan to calculate the exposure risks for children playing outside across 13 of the biggest cities in the country.

The survey of 2,000 parents revealed the hours children play outside in each of the cities between March and August. And the results were combined with the total levels of erythema-effective (sunburning) UV radiation in those cities for 2018, measured in units of standard erythema dose (SED).

The data revealed that millions of children who live in areas with less annual UV radiation can be more at risk of permanent sun damage if they spend longer outside without sun protection, than those living in sunnier locations.

The survey found children in Southampton, who play outside for an average of 207 hours across the six-month spring/summer period are most at risk of sun damage. UV radiation levels are at their highest on the south coast.

Children in Bristol, who play outside for 200 hours where annual UV radiation levels are 5150 SED, face the second highest risk of sun damage.

But a fifth of the parents surveyed from Southampton and Bristol said they never put sun protection on their children in the UK – despite living in the two areas where they are at the highest risk of sun damage.

The survey found children living in Belfast will spend 225 hours playing outside during spring and summer with annual UV radiation levels of 4470 SED, putting them in the top three locations for sunburn risk.

Professor Ann Webb at the University of Manchester said: “The potential risk of sunburn depends on how strong the sun is, and how long unprotected skin is exposed to that sun.

“We have used the erythema-effective (sun burning) UV radiation in sunlight across the UK in 2018 with data on how long children spend outside at selected locations to determine the potential for sunburn at each place.

“This cannot tell us whether anyone will get a sunburn because that also depends on individual behaviour and skin type.

“However, we can use the data to compare different places across the UK to see where children are most likely to get sunburn.

“This is called the relative risk of sunburn and we have compared each city to the average of all thirteen cities for which we have data.

“Cities with a value more than 1.0 have a higher than average risk of sunburn, those with values less than one have a lower than average risk of sunburn.”

Children in Birmingham and Newcastle were found to be are at the least risk of sun damage due to shorter times spent outside and lower annual UV levels.

Those in Birmingham will play outside for just under 170 hours between March and August, where annual UV is 4950 SED. But 22 per cent of parents from Birmingham surveyed said they do put sun protection on their children.

In Newcastle, children spend up to 190 hours outside and are exposed to annual UV radiation levels of 4410 SED.

Children in Manchester spend the least amount of time outside of the UK cities studied. Although the UV radiation levels are moderate, this puts them in the bottom three locations for risk.

The survey also investigated attitudes towards sun protection across the UK and found one in six parents don’t routinely apply sun protection on their children during the summer months – whatever the weather.

The poll found more than a third of children play in the park without sun protection, while just under half of parents send their children to school without any sun protection.

But more than half of the parents surveyed said take sun care more seriously when abroad, correctly believing the sun is stronger in countries like Spain. But many of the parents surveyed do not realise that the risk of permanent sun damage also exists at home.

Three in 10 said they do not put sun lotion on their children unless they are outside for longer than two hours at a time.

Nearly 50 per cent of those polled said they do not understand the importance of five star ratings on sun cream, which indicate the UVA protection of a sunscreen, and a further seven in 10 do not know the difference between UVA and UVB.

While half of those polled said they are happy to use sun lotion with an SPF of 50+, one in six parents usually opt for an SPF factor of 20 or less.

Clare O’Connor, Boots Soltan suncare expert, added: “Obviously parents are already thinking about sunscreen but we’re encouraging them to make sun protection a top priority this summer, at home as well as abroad.

“While we can feel and see some parts of the sun’s rays, UVA and UVB rays are invisible.

“It’s these invisible UVA and UVB rays, however, that have visible effects on the skin such as sun damage and premature ageing.

“Once the skin is pink, damage has been done.

“The good news is that, with proper use of sun protection, these effects can be very easily avoided.

“As children start to enjoy the warmer weather, spending more time out in the sunshine, we want to emphasise how essential regular application of a high SPF sunscreen that that also protects you against UVA is – every day and throughout the day.”

**Formula for Relative Risk

Hours of time spent outside x amount of UV radiation (erythema)

Add those totals together / 13 cities to get average

City total / average = relative risk (risk of sunburn)

SWNS