New Survey Shows Lack of Action on Skin Damage

New Survey Shows That Women Know the Cause of Age Spots, But Don’t Choose to Protect Themselves

Washington, D.C.- The Alliance for Aging Research, a not-for-profit health advocacy organization, today released the findings of a new survey that showed 80 percent of women with age spots knew that sun was the cause, but an even greater number said they’d made no effort to alter their sun exposing behavior. In reality, these flat brown marks commonly found on the hands, face and forearms, are preventable and treatable. For those surveyed with age spots, key findings included:

• Nearly half of the women said their spots made them feel older than their actual age, and a quarter said their spots made them embarrassed or want to hide their skin
• Women are more affected emotionally by age spots than men but, in general, Americans view age spots as an unavoidable part of growing older
• More than half of women with age spots did not realize they could be treated, and only one in ten had spoken to a physician or specialist about treatment

Although 60 percent of female age spot sufferers are highly or extremely interested in new treatments for age spots, they are not talking to their physicians about how to protect themselves against the condition or how to treat the marks once they have them.

In response to the survey findings, Daniel Perry, executive director of the Alliance for Aging Research commented, “Women need to feel more comfortable talking to their doctors about how to defend their skin against the sometimes harsh effects of Mother Nature.”

The main cause of age spots, as with skin cancer, is overexposure to the sun. Taking steps to limit your time in the sun will not only reduce your chances of developing skin cancer, it may also reduce your risk of age spots and other cosmetic skin conditions.

“There appears to be a disconnect between people’s understanding of the cause of the condition and their willingness to change their behavior to prevent it,” said dermatologist Dr. Helen Torok. “This survey shows that many women are bothered by the appearance of age spots, however, and it’s important that they know safe and effective treatments are available.” In order to provide more information on how to protect your skin from age spots, skin cancer, sagging and wrinkling, the Alliance for Aging Research just released a new brochure, Skin Deep: What You Need to Know to Keep Your Skin Healthy and Young.

The free brochure includes:

• 10 tips to keep your skin looking young
• How to protect yourself from skin cancer
• What you can do about wrinkles
• Treatment options for age spots and sagging skin

To order the brochure, log on to the Alliance website at www.agingresearch.org or call 202-293-2856.

The survey and the extended results are also available on the Alliance website. Visitors will be able to take the survey and compare their answers with the total response sample of 1,000 men and women. The survey was funded by an unrestricted educational grant from Galderma Laboratories.

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Founded in 1986, the Alliance for Aging Research is a nonprofit, independent organization dedicated to supporting and accelerating the pace of medical discoveries to vastly improve the universal human experience of aging. The Alliance combines the interests of top scientists, public officials, business executives and foundation leaders to promote a greater national investment in research and new technologies that will prepare our nation for the coming senior boom, and improve the quality of life for today’s older generation.