Professor of Medical Dermatology, University of Edinburgh

Joined February 2013
3 Photos and videos
Richard Weller retweeted
So, I opened my email today and found out from the American Academy of Dermatology member email that USA Today ran AAD's Practice Safe Sun survey. The same day I posted about how dermatology is killing people and had it go viral, closing in on a million views. Talk about a lucky coincidence. Honestly. It's not like the AAD keeps me informed about their PR schedule. The headline finding: 16 million Americans have reduced sunscreen use because of online "misinformation." Based on timing, they obviously weren't talking about my post specifically, but given the "there is no such thing as a safe tan" quote in the article, I'll bet they'd call it misinformation, even though I'm not anti-sunscreen. Man I hope @aadskin or @aadmember engages. It'd make them engage with the peer-reviewed evidence base that sun avoidance increases mortality: -MISS cohort, 29,500 Swedish women, 25 years. Lowest sun exposure had mortality comparable to smokers. -UK Biobank, ~400,000 participants. Highest UV exposure had 19% lower cardiovascular mortality, 15% lower all-cause mortality. -Korean NBUVB study, 12,000 vitiligo patients. 100 clinic phototherapy sessions associated with 36% fewer cardiovascular events. The AAD is worried "misinformation" is causing people to wear less sunscreen. I'm worried the AAD is killing people.
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Richard Weller retweeted
Thank you, @PublishersWkly for highlighting IN DEFENSE OF SUNLIGHT in your new "What We're Reading" picks. Book comes out in June, buzz is great, pre-order now to ensure you get a copy of the first printing. publishersweekly.com/9781668…
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Richard Weller retweeted
Dermatology is wrong about the sun. And it's killing people. I'm a dermatologist. 226 publications. I should know. Avoiding the sun increases the risk of dying as much as being a smoker. We can fix it. For decades, dermatology's message has been simple: avoid the sun. Wear sunscreen. Seek shade. UV causes skin cancer. End of discussion. That message is incomplete and outdated. People are dying because of it. Lots of people. The evidence has gotten strong enough that the field needs to update it.🧵
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Richard Weller retweeted
🚨🚨🚨 I sat down with @StevenBartlett on The Diary of a CEO and talked about EVERYTHING on the second most watched podcast in the world! youtube.com/watch?v=wQJlGHVm…
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Richard Weller retweeted
Dr. Richard Weller, UK dermatologist, and author of the recent article published advocating a rethink of sunlight here: jidonline.org/article/S0022-… also appeared on the People's Pharmacy talking about US dermatologists. It's a good listen: peoplespharmacy.com/articles…
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Richard Weller retweeted
Its wild that more than 3 years on, some dermatologists are still upset/concerned with our melanoma overdiagnosis paper. Its telling not a single cogent response has been mounted. Overdiagnosis is clearly happening, ignoring it doesn't make it go away.
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Richard Weller retweeted
Our new study suggests that the benefits of higher UV exposure outweigh the risks in low light environments like the UK. We used geographic and behavioural UV estimates, validated by vitamin D serum levels and a negative control outcome to test this Q. sciencedirect.com/science/ar…
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Pleased to see this paper of ours now published lnkd.in/ehMNA54N and even better, an article in the The Economist describing our findings. lnkd.in/eKGePiFw Broadly we studied participants in the UK Biobank with two independent measures of sunlight exposure-
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one geographical and one behavioural. Whichever way you look at it, Britons who get more sun exposure are healthier and live longer, through reduced heart disease but also through reduced overall cancer mortality. Do read the paper-it is open access
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Richard Weller retweeted
Interesting research by @WellerRichard and others using UK Biobank. UV exposure associated with LOWER all-cause, cardiovascular, and cancer mortality. Manuscript here: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3909…
Basking in the sun has been considered a health hazard for at least four decades. The risks ultraviolet light poses are real, but new research suggests it may be time to consider the benefits econ.st/4fINwaZ 👇
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Moderate sun exposure can be good for you. Why won’t American experts acknowledge that? @rowanjacobsen reports: theatlantic.com/magazine/arc… Great article by @rowanjacobsen . US colleagues @AADskin when are you going to think again about sunshine? The evidence base has changed.
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I have given plenary talks around Europe @Swissderma @ESDRorg @CharlesUCD @HealthySkin4All @StJohnsDerm and colleagues here understand that sunlight has benefits, not just risks jidonline.org/article/S0022-… . Blanket sun avoidance is harmful. I know I have US dermatology allies, but I
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feel like a John Le Carre character running agents behind the iron curtain- any thought that sunshine could have benefits seems total anathema. You need to start considering overall health. Being a good dermatologist shouldn't mean being a bad doctor
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Richard Weller retweeted
🚨 Clinical Dermatologists are waking up to the reality that perhaps our understanding of sunlight has been warped and that it is actually beneficial. (Thanks to @MaxGulhaneMD) for posting this! A MUST READ 👇 Sunlight: Time for a Rethink? jidonline.org/article/S0022-…
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