A COMPARATIVE-STUDY OF ATYPICAL AND MELANOCYTIC NEVI ON THE TROPICAL ISLAND CURACAO AND IN THE NETHERLANDS

A cross-sectional study was undertaken in 270 inhabitants of The Nethe rlands (moderate maritime climate, latitude 51 degrees 5' N-53 degrees 3' N) with skin types I-III and 757 inhabitants of the tropical islan d Curacao (latitude 12 degrees 2' N-12 degrees 23' N). The latter grou p consisted of 282 White individuals (mostly Dutch immigrants) and 475 people with non-White skin types IV, V and VI. All participants under went total skin examination and melanocytic naevi (MN) and clinically atypical naevi (AN) were noted, There was no statistical difference in the mean number of naevi greater than or equal to 2 mm or greater tha n or equal to 5 mm between the Curacao and The Netherlands White group s, but the mean number of naevi greater than or equal to 2 mm and grea ter than or equal to 5 mm was significantly lower in the Curacao non-W hite group, We found no obvious differences in mean naevus counts betw een genders and the various comparable age groups, Furthermore, we fou nd no significant difference in mean crude and mean age-standardized p revalence of (one or more) AN between Whites in The Netherlands and on Curacao. The Mantel-Haenszel prevalence ratio weighted for age and ge nder differences of Curacao Whites vs non-Whites was 5.93 (95% confide nce interval 3.9-12.0), demonstrating that AN are significantly less p revalent in darker skin types, In all groups, people with AN had signi ficantly more MN than people without AN. We found a generation-depende nt difference in the expression of AN among White inhabitants of The N etherlands and on Curacao, with a higher prevalence of AN in the young er generation.