MELANOCYTIC NEVI IN CHILDREN - DEMOGRAPHI C, ENVIRONMENTAL AND CONGENITAL FACTORS - EARLY RESULTS

A survey of benign melanocytic naevi was conducted among school childr en in Montpellier (France) in 1993 with the aim to assess the evolutio n with age of the number of naevi and the factors influencing their nu mber. Children in different age groups (3, 6, 9, 12 and 15 years) atte nding randomly selected public schools where included in the study. De rmatologists examined 651 children and recorded the number of naevi of more than 2 mm of diameter. Analysis was restricted to 565 children w hose parents responded to a historical questionnaire of exposure and s ociodemographic data. Among these children the number of naevi per uni t of area increased progressively with age although the number of naev i per unit of skin area reached a plateau at about 11 years of age for the girls and around 15 years of age for the boys. Puberty is a regul ative factor for the number of naevi and the number of naevi per unit of area. Children whose parents were born in Europe were most likely t o have naevi. Susceptibility to burns were also associated with few nu mber of naevi and number of naevi per unit of skin area. The cumulativ e exposure to sun since birth and the cumulative exposure during the h olidays increased the number of naevi and the number of naevi per unit of area but these variables are the last introduced into the logistic model. A prospective questionnaire can be used to assess the exposure s and protection variables allowing a better estimation of the skin re action to sun.