I am glad that I have never been to a tanning bed, but on your way in they should just hand you cigarettes and tequila because I am sure theres nothing wrong with that either! It is all pretty shocking. I cannot believe the negligence of some companies! I thought the study you referred to was very interesting but there are a few bones to pick.
One figure tabulates the relative amount of people that lived in a state with a UV index > 7 and when they lived there. This is good, but I am a little more curious about the relative levels of indices and their contributions to cancers. I bet UVI= 7 was picked as a historic (and high) reference point but I think it would be worth comparing those who lived in low index levels (1-2) and very high (9-10). An article I found notes that frequent outdoor exposure can reduce prostate cancer rates in some instances but increase rates in other countries or locations with lower solar radiation levels. This study had to do with Vitamin D receptors’ activities and expression levels, but I find it certainly relevant and a bit more applicable to many men who do not use tanning salons.
I found it very appropriate and accurate that the investigators used natural hair color and family history to compare hazard risks. But I do not find it appropriate at all to include self-reported incidence rates of childhood sunburns, although interesting. Let’s face it, we romanticize the past! I may recall one terrible sunburn in my past, but that is hardly definitive. The study I found also clarified some of my confusion. I thought it was odd that higher pigmentation levels were more “risky” for almost all cancers observed. But the study noted that pigmentation measurements “quantify a biological effect (i.e., skin response to UV radiation).” I guess I was confused because I always heard a tan “protects” from the sun, but its really a response and hardly a protection!
Lastly, it is important to head the author’s skepticism that some of these women could have developed cancer after the study. They did release new questionnaires, but they did not say if it affected the data... However, I was intrigued by the idea that people who tanned once or twice per year had a lesser risk of melanoma than the control! Maybe a little artificial light is not terrible? But p= .19, so you may want to take that with some salt and your complimentary tequila.
**For quality information on sun exposure, vitamin D, genetic polymorphisms, race, and cancers, check out this Article.
