Abstract
Sunlight is fundamental to life on Earth. Ancient civilisations across the globe and throughout history have recognised the crucial importance of sunlight, with sun deities in various forms featuring prominently in many ancient religions and traditions (Australian Aboriginal Gnowee, Wala and others, Arabian Malakbel, Chinese Xihe, Egyptian Ra, Mayan Ah Kin and many others). A modern form of sun worshipping can also be recognised, with sun, summer and beach culture figuring prominently (for many people) in the Australian national identity.
Inadequate sunlight exposure has many known and postulated detrimental health effects, in part through its role in vitamin D metabolism. Conversely sunlight, particularly wavelengths in the ultraviolet A and B range, is well known to be dangerous in excess. This is particularly significant in regions, such as Australia, with high levels of sunlight and environmental ultraviolet radiation.
The balance between beneficial and detrimental effects of sunlight exposure may also be important for ocular health. This thesis investigates the use of an objective method of quantifying ocular sun exposure, conjunctival ultraviolet autofluorescence photography, in a large cohort of young adults (the Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study). The associations between ocular sun exposure and established eye diseases in the cohort are reported and discussed.
As detailed in the text, median area of conjunctival ultraviolet autofluorescence was 44.2mm2 (range 0.0mm2 – 180.3mm2). Pterygium was present in 2.0% of male participants and 0.3% of female participants. Median total ultraviolet autofluorescence was higher in participants who had pterygium than those who did not, 73.4mm2 vs 44.0mm2, p=0.001.
23.7% of participants were myopic. Median conjunctival ultraviolet autofluorescence was lower in myopes than non-myopes, 31.9mm2 vs 47.9mm2, p<0.001. Participants in the lowest quartile of conjunctival ultraviolet autofluorescence (least sun damage) had more than two and a half times the odds of myopia than participants in the highest quartile (OR 2.67, 95%CI 1.83-3.89, p<0.001). Possible mechanisms underlying these associations, and the public health implications, are discussed.
| Original language | English |
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| Qualification | Masters |
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| Publication status | Unpublished - 2015 |
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