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Indoor tanning-related injuries treated in EDs included skin burns, eye injuries
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Indoor tanning was associated with a significant number of injuries treated in U.S. hospital emergency departments, including skin burns and eye injuries, according to study results.
Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention obtained nonfatal indoor tanning-related injury data from 2003 to 2012 from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System-All Injury Program (NEISS-AIP), a nationally representative sample of 66 NEISS hospital EDs with approximately 500,000 annual nonfatal injury-related ED visits.
Cases classified as unintentional injuries involving the use of an indoor tanning device and with a narrative containing keywords including “indoor tanning,” “tanning,” “tanning salon,” “tanning booth,” “tanning bed,” “sun lamp,” “ultraviolet” or “UV” were included in the initial selection. The researchers classified injuries into skin burns, eye injuries, lacerations and muscle and bone injuries, syncope, and other injuries.
Among the 405 nonfatal indoor tanning-related cases identified from the NEISS-AIP, it was estimated that on average, 3,234 indoor tanning-related injuries were treated each year in U.S. hospital EDs during the study period.
According to the researchers, women (82.8%), non-Hispanic whites (77.8%) and people between the ages of 18 and 24 (35.5%) were most likely to experience injuries, and injuries were most likely to occur in public settings such as tanning salons.
Skin burns (79.5%) were the most common injury, followed by syncope (9.5%) and eye injuries (5.8%).
Overall, the researchers found indoor tanning-related injuries had actually significantly, from 6,487 in 2003 to 1,957 in 2012.
Disclosure: The authors have no relevant financial disclosures.
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