Contributed by William Angelos| 16 August, 2005 16:04 GMT
Researchers classified 26 percent of those interviewed as 'ultraviolet light (UVL) tanning dependent,' using criteria adapted from an alcoholism-screening questionnaire.
Why do so many people continue to bake in the sun despite years of skin-cancer warnings from health authorities? It's not that the message has not been received. Many sunbathers know that the ultraviolet rays they're soaking up at the beach or in the tanning salon could endanger their health.
But the behavior persists, and the number of skin-cancer cases continues to rise.
A new study published online in the
Archives of Dermatology sheds some light on the problem: Sun tanning may be addictive.
Can't Stop Tanning
"Dermatologists often talk about people who seem 'addicted to the sun' -- people who know it's not good for them to be bronzed all the time, but don't seem to be able to stop tanning," said senior author Richard Wagner, a professor at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.
"It's interesting that by slightly modifying tools used to identify substance-related disorders, we can actually see an objective similarity between regular tanning and those disorders, he noted."
The researchers asked 145 Galveston beachgoers a series of questions, such as, "Do you try to cut down on the time you spend in the sun, but find yourself still suntanning?" and, "Do you think you need to spend more and more time in the sun to maintain your perfect tan?"
The interviews were divided into two parts. Four initial yes-or-no queries were based on a standard four-question survey used to identify alcohol abuse or dependence.
The second set of questions were based on seven diagnostic criteria for substance-related disorders drawn from the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV).
Increases Endorphin Production?
The researchers classified 26 percent of those interviewed as "ultraviolet light (UVL) tanning dependent," using criteria adapted from an alcoholism-screening questionnaire known as "CAGE" (Cut down, Annoyed, Guilty, Eye-opener).
An even greater proportion of beachgoers were found to have UVL tanning dependence -- 53 percent -- based on the DSM-IV criteria.
"This is a new idea, and we didn’t know how it would turn out, although there has been mixed evidence from other studies suggesting that tanning increases endorphin production, which could be addictive," Wagner said. "Certainly this could explain why educational interventions haven’t been more successful."
Molly M. Warthan and Tatsuo Uchida co-authored the study. |
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