PREVENTION
The Unhealthy Glow of a Golden Tan
"Go get a tan," urged an ad from the Indoor Tanning Association. "Your body will thank you."
More likely, your body will develop skin cancer, according to new research from Yale Cancer Center about indoor tanning. Published in late 2011, the study is the first to link basal cell carcinoma under age 40 with the use of ultraviolet (UV) emitting tanning devices. The researchers found that young indoor tanners, when compared to peers who never visited tanning salons, increased their risk of early-onset basal cell carcinoma by 69 percent. And the younger someone began indoor tanning, the greater the risk, which also increased with frequency of use. There was an elevated risk for basal cell carcinoma even in indoor tanners who never burned when using tanning beds. The group at greatest risk was young women, who are also the most frequent users of indoor tanning beds. The researchers concluded that 27 percent of early-onset basal cell carcinomas - 43 percent among the women -could be prevented if tanning devices had never been used...
