Abstract
The incidence of, and mortality from, malignant melanoma of skin in whites are strongly influenced by socio-economic conditions. Professional and administrative workers have the highest rates of all. Clerks and salesmen have higher rates than skilled manual workers, who have higher rates than unskilled workers. Women, when classified by the occupation of their husbands, show a similar relationship to social status. The biases of incidence data from systems of cancer registration, and mortality data from death certificates are different, and the consistency of the data from different periods and from different populations suggests that the relationship is real. The bulk of the data is from Britain, but there is sufficient from the U.S. to indicate that the effect is not restricted to one country. No consistent increase in risk was found in outdoor workers compared with indoor workers of similar socio-economic status.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 24 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $10.79 per issue
Rent or buy this article
Prices vary by article type
from$1.95
to$39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lee, J., Strickland, D. Malignant melanoma: social status and outdoor work. Br J Cancer 41, 757–763 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1038/bjc.1980.138
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/bjc.1980.138
This article is cited by
-
Berufliche UV-Belastung und Hautkrebs
Zentralblatt für Arbeitsmedizin, Arbeitsschutz und Ergonomie (2011)
-
Socio-economic class, rurality and risk of cutaneous melanoma by site and gender in Sweden
BMC Public Health (2008)
-
Environmental factors and the etiology of melanoma
Cancer Causes and Control (1993)