Modern day Ireland-What is our skin type?

Ireland is perceived as home to a population of Fitzpatrick one and two skin types. In 1997 Gibson et al examined the predominant skin type of Ireland ¹ . This study found that 0% of the population had Fitzpatrick skin type six. Modern day Ireland is an evolving country with a diverse population. Objective To analyse the predominant skin type in Ireland using the patient self-reported Fitzpatrick scale, determine the association of skin type with hair and eye colour and assess sunbed usage in patients according to Fitzpatrick skin type. Methods 750 patients recruited from both dermatology clinics(79%) and general medical clinics(21%). Ethical approval was obtained and each consenting patient was given an anonymized questionnaire querying the participant demographics, phenotype, ethnicity, sun protection habits and skin cancer history. Skin type was assessed with the standard Fitzpatrick skin type questionnaire. Statistical analysis was carried out using Microsoft excel, log regression analysis. Results 750 patients were evaluated. 52.3%(n = 392) were female, 47.7%(n = 357) were male. The median age was 56 years. 83% had solely Irish ethnicity and 17% were of other ethnicities. The distribution of skin types was as follows: Type 1:24.4%, type 2:41.5%, type 3:23.6%, type 4:5.4%, type 5:3.1%, type 6:2.4%.Of the total population 18.8%(n = 98) used sunbeds. Skin type 2(54.8%) and 3(22.5%) used sunbeds most often. Of the 750 patients 14.8% had a previous skin cancer with 43.1%:BCC, 46.5%:SCC, 10.2%:melanoma. Within the skin cancer group 9.4% had used sunbeds,72.9% wore sunscreen and 54.7% were on immunosuppression Discussion Ireland has become a diverse and multi-cultural island, with 20.8% of people being of non-Irish ethnicity. Health professionals need to be aware of this as this population may need language translators. There are more patients with skin of colour also. This means more education needs to be provided to medical professionals to allow accurate diagnosis, referral and treatment of this population.