Indoor tanning linked to other risky teenage behaviors

Indoor tanning is linked to other risky teenage behaviors, says a new government study.

Researchers from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that other behaviors, such as binge drinking, multiple sex partners and unsafe methods of weight control among high school students were tied to indoor tanning.

The association was discovered after researchers analyzed two CDC national surveys of adolescents in grades nine through 12 from 2009 to 2011. In it, students were asked about behaviors related to their health.

Results showed that about 16 percent of students had used indoor tanning devices in the 2009 survey and about 13 percent reported tanning in the 2011 survey. Not surprisingly, females participated in the behavior more than males, especially in the case of older and white students.

The researchers found that girls who engaged in "fake baking" were more likely to engage in illegal drug use or report having had sex with four or more partners; whereas for guys, non-prescription steroid use, smoking and attempted suicide were among those risky behaviors associated with indoor tanning.

"I think it's important to understand the prevalence of indoor tanning and its relation to other risky behaviors," Gery Guy, Jr., the study's lead author from the CDC, told Reuters Health.

It's no secret that indoor tanning has dangers all of its own. The World Health Organization (WHO) put tanning on par with tobacco use due to its high carcinogen level. Past studies showed that this translates to seven more women out of 10,000 developing melanoma, a deadly cancer.

WHO, the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Dermatology have spoken out against indoor tanning in recent years, and Guy agrees that no good can come from it.

"Early intervention is key among this population to avoid having the behavior continue into the adulthood," he said.