The Impact of Environmental Factors on Skin Cancer

Background: Skin cancer, as one of the most common cancers, is partly associated with environmental conditions. Objectives: The main purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of environmental factors on the incidence of skin cancer. Methods: The dataset contains the age-standardized incidence rate (ASR) of skin cancer in all provinces of Iran during a six-year period of time. Also, there were meteorological variables for a 29-year period for the provinces. We used the mean of meteorological variables for the 29-year period for each province as predictors. The ASR of skin cancer in each province in six years was considered as the response variable. Also, gender, latitude, altitude, wind speed, relative humidity, cloudy hours duration, and maximum air temperature in each province were considered independent variables. A mixed effects polynomial regression model was applied to data analysis. Results: Based on the applied model, the trend of ASR of skin cancer in different provinces was statistically significant (P < 0.001). The ASR of skin cancer for males was more than the females (P < 0.001). Furthermore, the positive linear effect of latitude was significant (P = 0.002). However, the quadratic term showed a deceleration in the growth rate of skin cancer incidence with increasing latitude. Furthermore, there was a positive significant impact of altitude on skin cancer incidence (P = 0.045). Conclusions: Health policymakers in their prevention planning should consider geographical conditions as influencing factors on skin cancer incidence. Moreover, men should be given more attention as the main group at risk for this cancer.