Sexual dimorphism in skin, eye and hair color and the presence of freckles in Chilean teenagers from two socioeconomic strata Dimorfismo sexual en la pigmentación de la piel, color de ojos y pelo y presencia de pecas en adolescentes chilenos en dos estrat

Abstract

Background: The risk of skin cancer is correlated with skin colour. Pigmentation protects against the effects of UV radiation. Aim: To study skin, eyes and hair colour in Chilean teenagers. Material and methods: The constitutive skin, hair and eyes colour and the presence of freckles was studied in 716 teenagers (416 females) of a low socio economical level and in 307 teenagers (155 females) of a high socio economical level. Results: The proportion of foreign surnames was higher in the high stratum and we only found aboriginal surnames in the low stratum. The females of the lower stratum presented lighter skin than males. This difference was not observed in the higher stratum. We did not find significant differences in the eye colour between sexes, however, adolescents from the high stratum presented lighter eye colour. Females had lighter hair colour than males in both strata, also, we found lighter hair colour in the high stratum. We did not find significant differences in the presen