Assessment of lifetime ocular exposure to UV-B: the Melbourne Visual Impairment Project

Published by Karger in the Developments in ophthalmology, v. 27, pp 9-13, 1997. http://content.karger.com/ProdukteDB/produkte.asp?Aktion=showproducts&ProduktNr=223974&searchWhat=bookseriesRecent reviews of the published literature revealed conflicting evidence for an association between solar ultraviolet radiation and ocular diseases such as cataract, climatic droplet keratopathy, uveal melanoma and macular degeneration. Differences between study conclusions could be due to methodology, and in some cases, the 'ecological fallacy'. The ecological fallacy occurs when conclusions regarding individual risk (i.e. of cataract) are inferred based on data collected regarding group risk. To avoid the ecological fallacy, it is necessary to collect individual exposure data.Individual ocular UV-B exposure is dependent on four factors which must all be assessed to avoid the ecological fallacy: (1) the ambient level of UV-B in the environment; (2) the amount of time the individual spends outdoors and is exposed to UV-B radiation; (3) the ocular ambient exposure ratio (the proportion of ambient UV-B that actually reaches the eye), and (4) the use of ocular protection such as hats and sunglasses. The aim of this study was to develop a questionnaire and model for use in epidemiologic studies to quantify lifetime personal ocular UV-B exposure