Teens using tanning salon are at higher risk of developing skin cancer, a new study shows.
Researchers at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth University said that early exposure to the ultraviolet radiation lamps used for indoor tanning greatly increases the risk of basal cell carcinomas (BCC) at a young age.
The matter is of concern as indoor tanning is quite in demand among teens and young adults.
For the study, researchers examined 657 participants in the New Hampshire Skin Cancer Study who were diagnosed with basal cell carcinomas (BCC) and 452 healthy participants.
Researchers recorded the tanning devices participants used, participants' skin sensitivity to the sun and the duration of time participants spent outdoors in childhood.
"Our findings suggest that teens and young adults who seek indoor tanning may be especially vulnerable to developing BCC, the most common form of skin cancer, at a young age," said lead author Professor Margaret Karagas, co-director of the Cancer Epidemiology and Chemopreventon Research Program at the Norris Cotton Cancer Center and Director of the Children's Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research Center at Dartmouth University, in a press release.
She explained that a recent survey in New Hampshire, where our study was conducted, revealed that 74 percent of high schools have at least one tanning salon within 2 miles, and an additional 22 percent have easy access to a tanning salon. "We need to help young people understand these risks," Karagas said.
According to study findings, most of the patients with early-onset BCC reported indoor tanning with a tanning lamp compared to healthy participants. The team also said that these participants were more likely to burn rather than tan during the first hour of sun exposure in summer compared to their healthy counterparts.
The team noted that the findings show indoor tanning products can produce 10 to 15 times as much UV radiation as the midday sun.
The findings were published in the journal Pediatrics.
