Nearly 40% of people in Germany have frequented an indoor tanning salon, according to a new telephone survey. Of these, 14.6% have used a tanning bed within the last 12 months.
The findings, which appear online in the Archives of Dermatology, provide a snapshot of the characteristics of indoor tanners in Germany and may help better target interventions.
Researchers led by Sven Schneider, PhD, MA, of the Mannheim Institute of Public Health, Social and Preventive Medicine of Heidelberg University in Mannheim, Germany, polled 4,851 individuals in Germany aged 14 to 45 about their indoor tanning habits.
They found that:
Women were more likely than men to have ever used a sunbed or to be currently using sunbeds.
Ever and current sunbed use was also more prevalent in persons with skin type III to VI than in those individuals with paler skin.
People with an immigrant background were significantly more likely to be currently using a sunbed
So why are people going tanning in Germany? The main motivations for tanning were relaxation and attractiveness, according to the study.
According to the researchers, interventions could target occupations in which predominantly younger women work because the group of working women are particularly likely to use sunbeds. “Furthermore, the relationship between current sunbed use and immigrant background indicates a specific need for the education of this population subgroup.”
[Source: Archives of Dermatology]
