There are many risk factors for basal cell carcinoma, the most common type of skin cancer in people with European ancestry. Generally speaking, the biggest and most obvious risk is cumulative exposure to sunlight.

But a new study published in the Archives of Dermatology reports on some interesting specific risks: People who have red hair, who belong to a higher socioeconomic group with more education, who received a skin cancer diagnosis at a younger age and who had a cancerous lesion on their upper body are all at apparent greater risk of developing multiple cancers over a lifetime.

Basel cell carcinoma is among the least dangerous of cancers (especially if detected early), but it is also among the most expensive to treat, in part because it tends to recur.

The finding that patients of higher socioeconomic status and education are at greater risk might be explained, said researchers at the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, by the nature of the patients' lifestyles: They tend to spend more time in the sun tanning, exposing more of their skin to ultraviolet rays for intermittent periods. And they tend to live longer than poorer, working-class folks, thus having more time to develop lesions.

BODY OF KNOWLEDGE

The skin of the average adult weighs roughly 8 pounds and covers 22 square feet. A standard doorway encompasses 21 square feet.

GET ME THAT. STAT!

Obesity rates have started to decline and level off for many adolescents, according to a UC San Francisco study, but the improvement is not across the board. Among white and Asian youth, obesity rates appear to have peaked in 2005 and have now declined (based on 2008 numbers) to 12 percent for white youth and 13 percent for Asians.

The overall rate for Hispanic youth also peaked in 2005, and it has leveled off at 26 percent.

More problematic are the rates of obesity for American Indian girls and black girls, which have climbed to 23 and 22 percent, respectively. These two groups are more than three times as likely as white girls to be severely obese (a body mass index at the 99th percentile).

NUMBER CRUNCHER

A single cheese quesadilla from El Pollo Loco (126 grams) contains 420 calories, 207 from fat. It has 23 grams of total fat or 35 percent of the recommended total fat intake for a 2,000-calorie daily diet.

It also contains 60 milligrams of cholesterol (20 percent); 810 mg of sodium (34 percent); 35 grams of total carbohydrates (12 percent); 2 g of dietary fiber (8 percent); and 19 g of protein.

MEDTRONICA

Center for Medical Consumers

Medicalconsumers.org

A no-nonsense site for a nonprofit patient advocacy group. The specialty here is reviewing published medical studies, and then providing a critical analysis. A good source for second opinions.

DOC TALK

Doc in a Box -- a small health care center, usually with high staff turnover

STORIES FOR THE WAITING ROOM

It may be poor solace in the moment, but a new study finds that antagonistic people, particularly those who are ultra-competitive and aggressive, tend to have greater thickening of the neck artery and an increased risk of heart attack and stroke.

PHOBIA OF THE WEEK

Ranidaphobia -- Fear of frogs

OBSERVATION

Poisons and medicine are oftentimes the same substance given with different intent.

-- English physician and educator Peter Mere Latham (1789-1875)

EPITAPHS

At last, a year-round resident

-- On the tombstone of Robert G. Rogers, West Chop cemetery, Vineyard Haven, Mass.

To find out more about Scott LaFee and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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