Photoprotection Knowledge, Habits, and Attitudes Among Spanish and Italian Medical Students

Exposure to UV radiation is a major risk factor for the development of malignant skin neoplasms. Currently, there are no studies available on sun-exposure habits among different countries. We conducted a cross-sectional survey among medical students from the University of Rome, Italy and the University of Granada, Spain to compare their photoprotection knowledge, habits, and attitudes. A total of 215 medical students (114 Spanish, and 101 Italian) were included. Spanish students considered the Sun to be the main cause of skin cancer (83.3% vs 61.4%, P = .003) and they looked at their skin more often than Italian students did (32.5% vs 9.9%, P < .001). The latter received information on photoprotection mainly from their dermatologist (34.7%, 35/101) vs Spaniards who received such information from their university (39.5%, 45/114; P < .001). After studying dermatology, Spaniards used sunscreen more frequently than Italians did (76.8% before vs 88.1% after; P = .007), and recognised the need to implement other measures as well (44.9% vs 67.2%; P = .025). (c) 2024 AEDV. Published by Elsevier Espana, S.L.U. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).