For years many have suspected that tanning beds can cause skin cancer.
But now a study by Mayo Clinic researchers claims that between 1970 and 2009 they found a huge spike in skin cancer.
“Published in the April issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings, the study reports that between the years 1970 and 2009, the incidence of melanoma increased eightfold among young women and fourfold among young men ages 18 to 39. Although men generally have a higher lifetime risk of melanoma than women, the researchers found the opposite trend to be true among the young adults. “We knew we would see an increase in rates among young women, but we were surprised we saw such a dramatic increase. This seems to be higher than what has been reported previously,” said Mayo Clinic dermatologist Dr. Jerry Brewer in a teleconference with Time magazine.
“For the study, researchers used data from the Rochester Epidemiology Project, a decades-long database of patient care in Olmsted County, Minnesota. The researchers looked at first-time melanoma diagnoses for all patients. Based on previous studies on tanning behavior, the authors suggest that the rise of melanoma among young women is linked to their penchant for indoor tanning.”
“Tanning beds can give you seven times the dose of UV radiation as the sun,” said Brewer, “but young adults are still going.”
One can not blame commercial tanning beds for the increase as it is the person to blame. It is not recommended to go tanning everyday and yet people abuse this and blame the tanning beds for their cancer.