Study Examines International Prevalence of Indoor Tanning
JAMA Dermatology Study Highlights
Exposure to indoor tanning is common in Western countries, especially among young people, which is a public health issue because of the association between tanning and skin cancer, according to a study by Mackenzie R. Wehner, M.Phil, of the University of California, San Francisco, and colleagues.
UV exposure from indoor tanning is a known carcinogen, but the scope of exposure to this hazard unknown, according to the study background.
Researchers searched electronic databases and analyzed 88 records that reported the prevalence of indoor tanning. They summarized results for different age categories, and calculated the risk of indoor tanning for nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC) and melanoma in the United States, Europe and Australia. Their results included data from 406, 696 participants.
According to the study findings, 35.7 percent of adults were exposed to indoor tanning in their lifetime, as were 55 percent of university students and 19.3 percent of adolescents. In the year prior to being surveyed, 14 percent of adults, 43.1 percent of university students and 18.3 percent of adolescents were exposed.
“Our findings suggest that exposure to indoor tanning is common in Western countries, especially among young persons,” the authors conclude. “Indoor tanning is a major public health problem. … It is time to open the debate about and pursue additional research into appropriate and effective policy and prevention strategies with the potential to significantly reduce skin cancer risks.”
(JAMA Dermatol. Published online January 29, 2014. doi:10.1001/.jamadermatol.2013.6896. Available pre-embargo to the media at http://media.jamanetwork.com.)
Editor’s Note: This study was funded by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Dermatology Foundation, the National Center for Research Resources of the National Institutes of Health, and the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, National Institutes of Health. Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc.
Media Advisory: To contact corresponding author Eleni Linos, M.D., Dr.PH, call Elizabeth Fernandez at 415-514-1592 or email Elizabeth.Fernandez@ucsf.edu.
