Young, Beautiful, and Tan: Teenagers and Indoor Tanning

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Summary and Comment

Young, Beautiful, and Tan: Teenagers and Indoor Tanning

Another health challenge for caretakers of adolescents

American teenagers are happily stepping into tanning booths to achieve a "healthy" tan. These authors used data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health survey to assess the prevalence and predictors of tanning booth use among 6903 white teenagers from across the U.S. (grades, 7-12; age range, 13-19) who responded to questions about sociodemographic factors, skin type, sunbathing habits, risk behaviors, psychosocial measures, and appearance (e.g., body mass index and body image).

Young women were the greatest consumers of indoor tanning: 28% of female students versus 7% of male students reported 3 or more tanning sessions, and 47% of 18- to 19-year-old women tanned versus 11% of 13- to 14-year-olds. Use of indoor tanning also increased with greater tanning response, from 13% of the poor tanners to 38% of those with strong response. Students residing in the Midwest or South had the highest use, despite no lack of available outdoor sunlight in southern regions. Dieters, students at rural high schools, and those who used two or more controlled substances were also more likely to tan indoors. Decreased odds of indoor tanning booth use were observed among those with college-educated mothers and greater cognitive ability.

Comment: Our teenagers still love to be tan. UV radiation is a classified carcinogen, and melanoma is on the rise, yet indoor tanning is as popular as ever. Americans are fighting to protect our youth from tobacco -- it's time to wage the same battle against indoor tanning.

— Mary Wu Chang, MD

Published in Journal Watch Dermatology October 28, 2003