Holy shit, albinos are at SUPER high risk of skin cancer
I mean I guess it seems pretty obvious that they would have a higher risk of skin cancer. Dark skinned people get less skin cancer than light skinned people, and we all kinda know how skin color evolved: sunnier regions —> darker skin to protect from the sun, less sunny regions —> lighter skin to reap more benefits from the little sun they get. Okay, makes sense.
But upon reading the stats, I’m still kind of shocked by the sheer magnitude of the increase in skin cancer risk; people with albinism really have to cover up and apply sunscreen like their life depends on it.
I was reading a Live Science article about how skin cancer was possibly the sole driver of Homo sapiens having dark skin.
As I’m sure you’re aware, the first humans originated in sub-Saharan Africa, and the earliest sapiens were essentially black, with similar pigmentation to the modern humans who live in that region today. But before that, early hominins likely had pale skin, as other modern hominids do, under their fur. As hominins evolved to have less and less body hair, UV radiation became more and more of a threat. It is likely that the frequency of skin cancer among these early humans created an evolutionary bias for darker pigmentation, as those who had more melanin were more likely to survive long enough to reproduce. Hence, black Africans. Lighter skinned individuals did not arise until later, when humans migrated further from the equator.
So, the stats for skin cancer among human albinos. For whatever reason, the prevalence of the mutation that causes albinism is much more common among African populations: 1 in every 5,000 sub-Saharan Africans vs 1 in 20,000 white Europeans. Due to not only the proximity to the equator, but also the prevalence of outdoor labor and lack of modern preventative medical measures, it turns out that a majority of albinos in sub-Saharan Africa develop skin cancer by their 20s. One study found that in Nigeria, 50% of albinos had skin cancer by the age of 26. In Tanzania, 80% of studied people with albinism had skin cancer by age 30. Less than 10% of sub-Saharan African albinos live past 40. That is how prevalent skin cancer is for them.
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But upon reading the stats, I’m still kind of shocked by the sheer magnitude of the increase in skin cancer risk; people with albinism really have to cover up and apply sunscreen like their life depends on it.
I was reading a Live Science article about how skin cancer was possibly the sole driver of Homo sapiens having dark skin.
As I’m sure you’re aware, the first humans originated in sub-Saharan Africa, and the earliest sapiens were essentially black, with similar pigmentation to the modern humans who live in that region today. But before that, early hominins likely had pale skin, as other modern hominids do, under their fur. As hominins evolved to have less and less body hair, UV radiation became more and more of a threat. It is likely that the frequency of skin cancer among these early humans created an evolutionary bias for darker pigmentation, as those who had more melanin were more likely to survive long enough to reproduce. Hence, black Africans. Lighter skinned individuals did not arise until later, when humans migrated further from the equator.
So, the stats for skin cancer among human albinos. For whatever reason, the prevalence of the mutation that causes albinism is much more common among African populations: 1 in every 5,000 sub-Saharan Africans vs 1 in 20,000 white Europeans. Due to not only the proximity to the equator, but also the prevalence of outdoor labor and lack of modern preventative medical measures, it turns out that a majority of albinos in sub-Saharan Africa develop skin cancer by their 20s. One study found that in Nigeria, 50% of albinos had skin cancer by the age of 26. In Tanzania, 80% of studied people with albinism had skin cancer by age 30. Less than 10% of sub-Saharan African albinos live past 40. That is how prevalent skin cancer is for them.
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