The frequency of self-skin examination and full body skin examination in dermatologists

Mortalities due to skin cancer are escalating, but early detection via skin examinations can be beneficial. To date, dermatologists have not been isolated as a high-risk population for developing skin cancer, although some evidence suggests that they are a high-risk group. Therefore, the specific aims of this study were to measure the frequency at which dermatologists perform self-skin examination and receive full-body skin examination.

A sample of 476 respondents provided data for this cross-sectional, nine-item survey, which was e-mailed to all registered members in the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery. The initial invitation was sent in the summer of 2007, with reminders sent at four and eight weeks. E-mails contained a unique identifier, and each member could only respond once to the survey sent to that particular e-mail address.

71.7 percent of the respondents reported that they routinely gave themselves a self-skin examination, 25.4 percent reported a monthly exam, 24.5 percent every six months, 17.2 percent once per year, and 4.6 percent every five years. Performing a self-skin examination was not related to age, gender, or history of skin malignancy. Seventy-six percent of all respondents never had a full-body skin examination conducted by another dermatologist, which persisted when analyzed by age (p = 0.0490) and gender (p = 0.0184).

Dermatologists are more likely to perform self-skin examination rather than visit another dermatologist for a full-body skin examination.