Up to Half of Beachgoers Addicted to Sun

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Anywhere from one-quarter to one-half of people catching rays at the beach may actually be addicted to tanning, according to new study findings.

After interviewing 145 beachgoers, U.S. researchers found that a significant portion met a series of addiction criteria traditionally used to diagnose alcoholism and other substance use disorders.

These findings suggest that regular sun-tanners may have a new type of substance disorder involving ultraviolet light, write the authors, led by Dr. Richard F. Wagner, Jr., of the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.

In the Archives of Dermatology, Wagner and his team note that many people continue to sunbathe, despite widespread warnings about skin damage and the risk of skin cancer.

So, is sun exposure addictive? To investigate, the researchers interviewed sunbathers, asking questions designed to measure addiction.

For instance, as part of the first set of addiction criteria, beachgoers reported if they were annoyed when people asked them to stop tanning, if they could not make themselves cut down on sunbathing, felt guilty about their habit, and wanted to tan as soon as they woke up.

As part of a second set of addiction criteria, the researchers asked people to admit if they had missed a commitment because of a burn, canceled a social or work activity because they decided to tan, and if they prefer sunbathing to all other activities. Beachgoers also had to estimate how much time they typically spend tanning.

The researchers found that 26 percent of people were addicted to tanning according to the first set of criteria, and 53 percent were addicted according to the second set of criteria.

"Anecdotal observations about patients who seemed 'addicted to the sun' have been discussed in dermatology for years," the authors note. They point out that the sun helps release endorphins in the skin, and people may become addicted to the feeling they get after tanning.

SOURCE: Archives of Dermatology, August 2005.