Premalignant Skin Lesions among Residents of a Rural Municipality of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Abstract

Introduction: Skin cancer is an important public health issue and, despite the relevance of the topic, there are few studies available in Brazil addressing the pre-malignant skin lesions. Objectives: To describe the characteristics of rural population that works in an outdoor environment and analyse the association with the presence of premalignant skin lesions. Method: A population survey was conducted in a rural county in the South of the country between the years of 2010-2011. 242 individuals participated in this study. The subjects reported working outdoors, were in the age group of ≥40 years old and both genders were included. Interviews were conducted, and dermatologists of the regional referral hospital network evaluated the presence of skin lesions. All pre-malignant skin lesions in the study population were defined as outcome. Results: The prevalence of skin lesions in the study population was of 29.3% (71 cases). In a rough association analysis was observed that individuals aged ≥60 years were four times more likely to have skin lesions than those who were younger (OR=4.05; IC95% 1.89-8.70). The skin type I- II had a triple chance to have skin lesions compared to other skin types (OR=2.99; IC95% 1.58- 5.66) and those working in agriculture were twice as likely to have skin lesions in relation to other activities (OR=2.04; IC95% 1.01-4.14). Conclusion: Individuals with skin photo type I-II and workers performing their duties outdoors are part of specific groups with a higher risk for skin cancer. Strategies for the prevention and early detection of skin lesions should be implemented in these priority groups.