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Girls, young women at higher risk for unsafe skin-protection practices

Adolescents practice behaviors that put them at increased risk for skin cancer, with girls and young women at an especially high risk for practicing unsafe skin-protection behaviors, according to study data.

Researchers examined data for a nationally representative population of high school students over a 10-year period from the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System to determine sunscreen and indoor tanning device use. The researchers focused specifically on the analysis of responses to two questions: “When you are outside for more than one hour on a sunny day, how often do you wear a sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or higher?” and  “During the past 12 months, how many times did you use an indoor tanning device, such as a sunlamp, sunbed or tanning booth?”

Corey Basch

Indoor tanning device use decreased slightly, from 15.6% in 2009 to 13.3% in 2011, with more users being female. White females were more likely to use indoor tanning devices compared with other subgroups, at 37.4% in 2009 and 29.3% in 2011. The percentage of respondents who reported heavy use of indoor tanning devices in the previous 12 months was highest among white females, 12.4% in 2009 and 11.0% in 2011. 

The researchers also found that the prevalence of using a tanning device increased as grade level increased.

Overall, the percentage of respondents who reported using sunscreen decreased from 67.7% in 2001 to 56.1% in 2011. The lowest reported use of sunscreen was in 2005 at 55.3%.

A greater percentage of females than males consistently reported using sunscreen. Additionally, whites were more likely to report using sunscreen than black, Hispanic or other racial/ethnic respondents, according to the researchers.

Disclosure: The authors have no relevant financial disclosures.