Risk attitudes and sun protection behaviour: Can behaviour be altered by using a melanoma genomic risk intervention?

• Published in: Cancer epidemiology 2019-08, Vol.61, p.8-13
• Main Authors: Morton, Rachael L., Asher, Rebecca, Peyton, Edward, Tran, Anh, Smit, Amelia K., Butow, Phyllis N., Kimlin, Michael G., Dobbinson, Suzanne J., Wordsworth, Sarah, Keogh, Louise, Cust, Anne E.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Attitudes; Background radiation; Behavior; Behaviour change; Cancer; Decision making; Demographics; DOSPERT; Epidemiology; Exposure; Family medical history; Female; Genetics; Genomics; Genomics - methods; Health Behavior - physiology; Health economics; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Health risks; Human behavior; Humans; Intervention; Male; Males; Melanoma; Melanoma - prevention & control; Middle Aged; Perceptions; Prevention; Questionnaires; Risk aversion; Risk groups; Risk taking; Skin cancer; Skin Neoplasms - prevention & control; Sun; Sunbathing - psychology; Sunlight - adverse effects; Tanning; Ultraviolet radiation; Variance analysis; Young adults
• ISSN: 1877-7821; 1877-783X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.canep.2019.05.002

•Health-related risk taking was higher in younger people.•Health-related risk taking was lower in people with a personal/family cancer history.•Risk-averse individuals showed lower levels of sun-exposure than risk-seekers.•Provision of genomic risk of melanoma to risk seekers might reduce sun-exposure. Background: Exposure to ultraviolet radiation from sunlight is directly associated with melanoma skin cancer, however reducing sun-exposure can be difficult to achieve at a population level. Methods: Using a genomic risk information behaviour change trial for melanoma prevention, we classified participants as risk-seeking, risk-neutral or risk-averse for domain-specific risk taking (DOSPERT). One-way ANOVA determined the association between socio-demographic characteristics and risk-taking score, and multivariable linear regression ascertained impact of an individual’s underlying risk propensity on an objective measure of sun-exposure, standard erythemal dose (SED), at 3-months follow-up. Results: Of 119 participants, mean age 53 years; 50% males, 87% had a personal/family history of cancer; 19% were classified risk-seeking, 57% risk-neutral. The mean risk-taking score was significantly higher in younger participants (≤50 years: 13.86 vs. >50 years: 11.11, p = 0.003); and lower in those with a personal/family history of skin cancer versus without (10.55 vs 13.33, p = 0.009). Risk averse individuals had lower weekly mean SEDs at 3-months than risk neutral and risk seeking individuals (2.56, 5.81, 4.81 respectively, p = 0.01). Risk seekers showed fewer sun protective habits (p