Prevalence of Exposure to Solar Radiation Among Workers in Brazil: Support for Actions to Prevent Work-Related Skin Cancer
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32635/2176-9745.RBC.2025v71n1.4880Keywords:
health occupational, health surveys, solar radiation, occupational exposureAbstract
Introduction: In Brazil, there is little information about the prevalence of occupational exposure to solar radiation, the main risk factor for non-melanoma skin cancer, the most common neoplasm in the country. Objective: To calculate the prevalence of exposure to solar radiation and its associated factors in the Brazilian employed population. Method: Cross-sectional study, with data from the 2019 National Health Survey. Expanded prevalence and respective 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for exposure to solar radiation were calculated, according to demographic, socioeconomic, geographic and occupational variables. Multiple logistic regression analysis, stratified by sex, was used to identify the determinants of exposure to solar radiation. The complex sampling design was considered. Results: 88,904,261 workers were evaluated, 23.5% of whom were exposed to solar radiation. Thirty-six percent of men (36.5%; 95%CI 37.0; 39.3) and 7.9% (95%CI 6.0; 7.2) of women were exposed to solar radiation. The economic sectors of agriculture, construction, water, sewage and material waste management activities had the highest percentages of workers occupationally exposed to the sun. The chance of exposure to solar radiation was greater among male, black people, those with a low level of education and income, residents of rural areas, those with an informal employment and who worked more than 40h/week. Conclusion: The prevalence of exposure to solar radiation in Brazilian workers is high and unequally distributed by gender and economic sectors. Actions to prevent this exposure in work environments must prioritize the most exposed groups of workers, considering economic activities and their demographic, socioeconomic, geographic and occupational determinants.
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