More young adults now say that they value the appearance of a tan than have said so in past years, and their increased use of indoor tanning reflects that attitude, according to Dr. June K. Robinson of Northwestern University, Chicago, and her associates.
Researchers surveyed 100 people who appeared to be aged 18-30 years, and were sitting or lying on a Chicago beach in July of last year, about their knowledge of, attitudes toward, and use of indoor tanning, and compared the results with telephone surveys of 1,000 Illinois residents conducted in 1988 and with 958 teenage and young adult Chicagoans in 1994.
The 38 men and 62 women in the present survey were matched for age and sex with 100 subjects in each earlier survey.
The knowledge that tanning can cause melanoma/skin cancer initially decreased from 42% in the 1988 survey to 38% in the 1994 survey but then increased to 87% in 2007, Dr. Robinson and her associates reported (Arch. Dermatol. 2008;144:484-8).
Nevertheless, they said, "in each successive interval, there was an almost equivalent increase in the perception that people looked better with a tan"—from 58% to 69% and finally to 81% in 2007.
Tanning bed use also rose from 1% in 1988 to 26% in 1994 and 27% in 2007.
In all years surveyed, respondents said that they got most of their information about the general safety of indoor tanning beds from their friends or social group (71%-75%) and half reported that they went to a tanning salon for the first time with their friends. Other sources of information included family (18%-21%) and tanning salon workers (23%-24%).
Adolescents and young adults said their most trusted source of information about indoor tanning was the family physician or dermatologist, but only 15% reported that they had ever discussed the issue with their physicians, Dr. Robinson and her associates found.
"Counseling young adult patients to cease indoor tanning represents an opportunity to prevent UV radiation exposure that may cause melanoma," they noted.