Self-reported sunscreen use and urinary benzophenone-3 concentrations in the United States: NHANES 2003–2006 and 2009–2012
Background: Sunscreens protect against skin cancer and other harmful effects of solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR). Epidemiologic and public health surveys often rely on self-reported sunscreen use to estimate sun exposure and avoidance, but questions remain about the validity of self-reports. Benzophenone-3 (BP-3), a common sunscreen ingredient, can be detected in the urine. Prior studies suggest that BP-3 concentrations increase after application of sunscreen. Objectives: The goal of this study was to assess the validity of self-reported frequency of sunscreen use in relation to urinary BP-3 concentrations in a representative sample of the general US population, including in sub-groups defined by age, sex and race/ethnicity. Methods: To assess the relationship between categorical self-reported sunscreen use and creatinine-corrected urinary BP-3 concentrations, we conducted a linear regression adjusted for age, sex, race/ethnicity, six-month time period, body mass index, education, and sun avoidance behaviors. We tested for effect modification by age, sex, ethnicity and time period of measurement using multiplicative interaction terms and a F test. Results: BP-3 was positively associated with self-reported frequency of sunscreen use across all ages, sexes, race/ethnicities, and time periods. Crude and multivariate adjusted models were all statistically significant. R-square was relatively low for all models, ranging from 0.15 to 0.43. Conclusions: Urinary BP-3 is positively associated with self-reported frequency of sunscreen use in the general US population, even in groups with overall low sunscreen use. These results suggest that self-report is a valid, although weak, way of assessing relative frequencies of sunscreen usage in a population-based study. - Highlights: • Urinary benzophenone-3 (BP-3) is a metabolite of a common sunscreen ingredient. • We modeled urinary BP-3 against self-reported sunscreen usage. • We observed a positive association between sunscreen use and urinary BP-3. • R{sup 2} was low, suggesting self-report is a valid but weak way to assess sunscreen use.
- OSTI ID:
- 22687702
- Journal Information:
- Environmental Research, Journal Name: Environmental Research Vol. 1542; ISSN ENVRAL; ISSN 0013-9351
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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