[Study of demographic, environmental and congenital factors in the development of nevi in children between three and fifteen years old. Early results].
A survey of benign melanocytic naevi was conducted among school children in Montpellier (France) in 1993 with the aim to assess the evolution with age of the number of naevi and the factors influencing their number. Children in different age groups (3, 6, 9, 12 and 15 years) attending randomly selected public schools where included in the study. Dermatologists examined 651 children and recorded the number of naevi of more than 2 mm of diameter. Analysis was restricted to 565 children whose parents responded to a historical questionnaire of exposure and sociodemographic data. Among these children the number of naevi per unit of area increased progressively with age although the number of naevi per unit of skin area reached a plateau at about 11 years of age for the girls and around 15 years of age for the boys. Puberty is a regulative factor for the number of naevi and the number of naevi per unit of area. Children whose parents were born in Europe were most likely to have naevi. Susceptibility to burns were also associated with few number of naevi and number of naevi per unit of skin area. The cumulative exposure to sun since birth and the cumulative exposure during the holidays increased the number of naevi and the number of naevi per unit of area but these variables are the last introduced into the logistic model. A prospective questionnaire can be used to assess the exposures and protection variables allowing a better estimation of the skin reaction to sun.
Daurès
J P
JP
SEBISP-DIM Hôpital Gaston Doumergue, Nîmes.
Sancho-Garnier
H
H
Pourrin-Bourdonneau
C
C
Fissier
M
M
Arnaud
C
C
Grabbar
S
S
Vergnes
C
C
Picot
E
E
Meynadier
J
J
D000293:Adolescent; D017677:Age Distribution; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D005260:Female; D005602:France / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D009508:Nevus, Pigmented / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D011159:Population Surveillance; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013472:Sunlight / Q000009:adverse effects; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires