20 Jan Kids Who Use Tanning Beds More Likely To Use Drugs, Steroids
More on Dermatology on MedicalResearch.com
Tanning Bed CDC Image
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Myra Sendelweck M.Eng
M.D. Candidate 2018 and
Robert Dellavalle, MD, PhD, MSPH
Chief, Dermatology Service Denver VA Medical Center Denver, CO
University of Colorado School of Medicine
MedicalResearch: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Indoor tanning has increasingly been recognized amongst providers as a public health concern. Recent literature suggests an association between indoor tanning and other risky health behaviors in adolescents.
We were intrigued by this association. We analyzed a survey of Colorado high school students and found that those who tanned were also more likely to use various substances, such as steroids, alcohol, marijuana, and illicit drugs. Tanners were over five times as likely to report steroid use!
MedicalResearch: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?
Response: This report piqued our interest in exploring other potentially concerning aspects of the patient population that engages in indoor tanning. We will be analyzing data for additional characteristics such as sexual practices, weight management, mental health, and suicide ideation.
MedicalResearch: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?
Response: This report piqued our interest in exploring other potentially concerning aspects of the patient population that engages in indoor tanning. We will be analyzing data for additional characteristics such as sexual practices, weight management, mental health, and suicide ideation.
MedicalResearch: Is there anything else you would like to add?
Response: The adolescent population is one in which early and targeted interventions can drastically alter the course of future morbidity and mortality. As such, this is an important field of study to better characterize.
Citation:
More on Dermatology on MedicalResearch.com
Last Updated on January 20, 2016 by Marie Benz MD FAAD