Risks to Kids From Sun Exposure and Tanning Beds

Posted by Wendy Anne Makhdum Prosser Sep 28, 2009

As summer draws to a close in the Northern Hemisphere, yet more research highlights the risks of reckless exposure to the Sun.

In this month's Archives of Dermatology, a team from the University of Colorado Denver reports that 6–8-year-olds with very pale skin who develop a tan when exposed to the Sun have significantly more moles than those who do not tan. Darker-skinned children, in contrast, showed no such difference. Since the number of moles that a person has is a risk factor for malignant melanoma, the authors suggest that parents of pale-skinned children who tan easily should take extra care to protect them from the Sun’s rays. Sensible precautions include covering up with loose clothing and hats, and avoiding the Sun when it is at its strongest, in the hours around noon.

Shielding young children from harm might be straightforward enough, but protecting older kids is another matter. In a second study in the same journal, data collectors posing as 15-year-old, fair-skinned girls telephoned over 3500 tanning bed studios throughout the USA to ask about the establishments' age restrictions and parental consent policies.

Although a large majority of the studios required parental consent, only 5% would not allow the 'teenager' to tan because of her age. Yet previous research has shown that a woman who uses a tanning bed for the first time before the age of 35 years increases her risk of melanoma by as much as 75% (El Ghissassi F et al. Lancet Oncol 2009; 10(8): 751–2).

Several states plan to introduce regulations regarding teens and tanning studios, including bans on tanning bed use by under-18s. However, for Joni A. Mayer, principal investigator on this study and Professor of Public Health at San Diego University, this does not go far enough. "Our data and other data indicate that those under age 17 need to be banned from tanning beds," she says.