Time Differences in Reaching Minimal Erythemal Doses among Different Fitzpatrick Skin Types Irradiated with NB-UVB

UV exposure is a significant risk factor for skin diseases. UV-B radiation can penetrate the epidermis, the skin's outermost layer, causing erythema (redness), irritation, and burn. Long-term UV-B radiation exposure can also injure the skin, raising the risk of skin cancer and premature aging. Semi-military students are often exposed to UV radiation due to their outdoor activities. The high level of outdoor activity leads to significant UV exposure without adequate protection. Previous studies have shown that the characteristics of each skin type based on Fitzpatrick vary in the general population. This study focuses on the semi-military student group, who are more frequently exposed to the sun. Therefore, it is important to determine the differences in the time required to reach the minimal erythemal dose (MED), which is the time it takes for the skin to become red due to UV exposure. This study aims to determine the difference in time to achieve Minimal Erythema Doses (MED) in semi-military students based on Fitzpatrick skin types. This study is an experimental study with a pretest-posttest two-group design, involving 15 research subjects who will be exposed to NB-UVB phototherapy to observe the time required to reach the Minimal Erythemal Dose (MED) across different Fitzpatrick skin types. The results of this study show that the average time to reach the MED differs across each skin type. Time to reach the MED was observed based on the analysis of differences between each skin type. In contrast, there was no significant difference between Fitzpatrick Skin Types 1 and 2, or between Fitzpatrick Skin Types 2 and 3. The time to reach the MED varies across skin types, with significant differences observed among several Fitzpatrick skin types.