Variability of skin viscoelasticity in women across the continuum of skin color / Janine S. Everett.

Format:

Book

Manuscript

Thesis/Dissertation

Author/Creator:

Everett, Janine S.

Contributor:

Sommers, Marilyn, advisor.

University of Pennsylvania.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Penn dissertations--Nursing.

Nursing--Penn dissertations.

Academic Dissertations as Topic.

Medical Subjects:

Academic Dissertations as Topic.

Local Subjects:

Penn dissertations--Nursing.

Nursing--Penn dissertations.

Physical Description:

xiii, 175 pages : illustrations ; 29 cm

Production:

2011.

Summary:

Background/Purpose. Black women have lower injury prevalence after sexual assault and childbirth as compared to White women. Investigators have also published findings describing similar differences in wound healing and in pressure ulcer formation. Sommers et al. (2008) suggested that differences in injury prevalence may not be related to race or ethnicity, but rather to skin color, and that the properties of the skin may vary based on skin color. To explicate biomechanical differences that might influence the effects of skin injury versus protection, we chose to investigate the physiological constructs of viscoelasticity and skin color. The study aim was to account for the variability in skin viscoelasticity at four anatomical locations (volar forearm, upper inner arm, inner thigh, and sacrum) as a function of race/ethnicity, skin color, age, body mass index (BMI), recent weight loss, smoking status, sun exposure, and health status in women.

Methods. We enrolled 233 healthy adult female participants at a large urban university in this prospective study with a descriptive, cross-sectional design. Study staff collected data regarding health status and demographics via survey. We calculated BMI after obtaining height and weight measurements on-site and measured skin color with a handheld spectrophotometer and skin elasticity with the Cutometer MPA580. We also developed and used the Sun Exposure Survey Instrument (SESI), which we first evaluated for content validity (S-CVI 0.944) and internal consistency (Cronbach.s alpha 0.869, 17 items, N=63) to measure sun exposure.

Results. Significant differences were found in viscoelasticity values across anatomic sites for all participants. The most significant predictor variables of skin viscoelasticity were age, recent weight loss, and BMI. R 2 results ranged from 0.24-0.41. The significance of the relationships between skin color, sun exposure, and race with viscoelasticity varied across sites.

Conclusions and Future Work. The association between aging and decreased skin elasticity is well known, but confirmed herein. The findings on BMI and weight loss are novel and require further investigation. While we explained little of the variance in skin elasticity through the skin color and sun exposure variables, we contend that these relationships should be reassessed with a greater number of participants and a more diverse sample.

Notes:

Adviser: Marilyn Sommers.

Thesis (Ph.D. in Nursing) -- University of Pennsylvania, 2011.

Includes bibliographical references.