Which age range is targeted for USPSTF UV exposure counseling for skin cancer?

• A. 25 through 44 years
• B. Persons aged 6 months to 24 years with fair skin types.
• C. All ages
• D. Only infants.

Answer: (B)

The main idea here is that UV exposure counseling to prevent skin cancer is most clearly supported for a specific high‑risk group, not universally. The USPSTF targets instruction to reduce sun exposure to people who are most vulnerable and most likely to benefit: those aged 6 months through 24 years with fair skin types. This is because early-life UV exposure plays a major role in later skin cancer risk, and sun‑protective behaviors established in childhood and adolescence tend to persist into adulthood. For this reason, the evidence supports focusing counseling on young individuals with fair skin, where it can have the most impact.

Choices that try to apply counseling to all ages, or to only infants, don’t fit the evidence base as well, since the benefit has not been demonstrated as clearly across broader adult populations or in very young children outside this window.