Dermatologist. Accelerationist. 226 papers. 100+ trials. Textbook author. DOCS Dermatology. #1 podcast for derms. A novel about the AI that'll replace doctors.
May 2 • 16 tweets • 6 min read
Dermatology is wrong about the sun.
And it's killing people.
I'm a dermatologist. 226 publications. I should know.
Avoiding the sun increases the risk of dying as much as being a smoker.
We can fix it.
For decades, dermatology's message has been simple: avoid the sun. Wear sunscreen. Seek shade. UV causes skin cancer. End of discussion.
That message is incomplete and outdated.
People are dying because of it. Lots of people.
The evidence has gotten strong enough that the field needs to update it.🧵
The Data
The MISS cohort followed over 29,500 Swedish women for 25 years.
Women who avoided the sun died at the same rate as smokers who got the most sun.
Read that again. Sun avoidance carried mortality risk comparable to smoking.
The effect was driven primarily by cardiovascular mortality.
Women with the lowest sun exposure had a 60% higher rate of cardiovascular death compared to those with the highest exposure.
