Study: Tanning bed sunburn frequent

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J., July 31 (UPI) -- College-age women who use tanning beds reported frequent sunburn, increasing their risk of cancer, U.S. researchers say.

Researchers at the Center of Excellence at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, East Tennessee State University, Pennsylvania State University and Northwestern University, said the study involved 198 female students from two universities with a mean age of 19.

Lead author Jerrod L. Stapleton, a behavioral scientist at the Center of Excellence, said previous research on redness of the skin/sunburn in relation to tanning bed use relied on study participants' long-term memory.

In this study, participants were required to make a series of diary entries during a 12-week period to document whether sunburn was a result of their tanning bed use.

During the study period, 37 percent did not engage in indoor tanning, an additional third used indoor tanning two to 10 times and nearly 12 percent reported more than 20 sessions.

The study, published in Translational Behavioral Medicine, found two-thirds of participants reported at least one case of sunburn related to an indoor tanning session, half of respondents reported two or more episodes and 36 percent reported three or more instances.

Among those who used indoor tanning, 1,429 indoor tanning sessions were reported, with 1-in-5 sessions resulting in sunburn.