Google Search Trends and Skin Cancer

ues decreased, MI values increased monotonically.We then analyzed how these measurements correlated after raw values were categorized.Although ITA and MI values place individuals into 1 of 6 skin types, these classification systems are currently unrelated, with no consensus about which MI values belong to which FST group. 4,5 We found that by placing participants with MI values of 750.0 or greater in FST VI, we observed a very strong correlation between these unrelated classification systems (Spearman ρ = 0.95; P < .001)(Figure ,B).Discussion | Determining skin type is necessary for understanding personal risk for sunburn and, by extension, skin cancer.Skin type is also important clinically because the cosmetic and medical industries have increased their use of laser applications in recent years. 6 Because questions about FST are used to assign skin type and determine laser-based treatment variables, participants were asked questions about FST, and 538 (96.8%) stated that the sun affected their skin in some way.Of the 390 black participants, 373 (95.6%) acknowledged that they were photosensitive (Table ).Only individuals who are not photosensitive are typically classified as FST VI, and our data confirm that most black participants should be classified as having an FST other than VI. 3 As a result, we defined the MI for FST VI to include only individuals with an MI of 750.0 or greater.Strong correlation between MI and ITA values (Figure) suggests that either of these methods can be used to assess skin pigmentation depending on the relevance of the measurement outcome of the intended study.Recognizing this strong correlation will allow research by health care professionals, biomedical scientists, and public health researchers to be more applicable and comprehensible across disciplines.