Seniors risk cancer via tanning booths

PHILADELPHIA , March 11 (UPI) -- One out of 10 grandmas and grandpas are getting a tan at a tanning salon and risking cancer, a U.S. study shows.

An analysis of a National Health Interview Survey of 29,394 people revealed that while 20 percent of 18- to 39-year-olds visited tanning beds, 10 percent of those between the ages of 50 to 64 years used a tanning bed and 8 percent of those over age 65 did.

"Our results are concerning, especially given the increasing rates of skin cancer, including the deadliest form -- melanoma," study researcher Carolyn Heckman of Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia said in a statement.

"Ninety percent of all skin cancers are thought to be associated with ultraviolet radiation, which is emitted during indoor tanning. There is a myth that indoor tanning is safer than sunbathing, but this is not the case."

Heckman said the researchers were surprised by how many older adults visit tanning facilities.

The findings were published online in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.