Consumers and public officials need to be informed about the risks of UV exposure with rigorous scientific research and without inflammatory overstatements. Unfortunately, that’s not happening today. Too often, correlative studies completely lacking rigorous standards are used to change public policy. Further, flimsy research studies, whose authors draw no definite conclusions, are propped up by PR campaigns that make claims beyond what the research says and suggest the science is inconclusive and irrefutable. It’s been going on for more than 20 years:
- In 1995, the American Academy of Dermatology lobbied the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to ban indoor tanning completely, based on a statistic pulled from a small subgroup of one 1994 study. That statistic was promoted for several years, appearing in press reports about tanning despite being debunked by FDA as not truly representing the study’s data and is no longer used today. That statistic – that 10 sunbed sessions increased melanoma risk seven-fold – lacked rigor from the start (its data set also suggested that sunscreen usage doubled melanoma risk, a finding that was divergent and was obviously never publicized), but affected policy and debate for almost five years (Page 7 of this link).
- In 1996, the American Academy of Dermatology presented research at its annual media day that claimed by 2012, melanoma would be the leading cause of cancer mortality in people of all skin types. That never came close to being true – in fact, melanoma mortality has decreased steadily in women since 1985, while increasing in men, according to the National Cancer Institute’s own data. Again, the data fueling this claim were never evaluated.
- In 2002, dermatology leaders promoted a study they claimed involved tanning salon sunbeds, despite the fact that most of the data came from usage of sunlamps in homes by fair-skinned people (95% of the data set) in the 1970s before tanning salons existed. This study is still cited today, despite the fact that its authors acknowledged in the text that results “did not achieve statistical significance.” Yet again, this study went unchallenged, and fueled many policy decisions.
- In 2009, dermatology leaders claimed sunbed usage before age 35 increased melanoma risk 75%, despite the fact that half of the subjects in the data set were using either medical phototherapy units or home tanning sunlamps. When data from tanning salon sunbeds was broken out, the risk became statistically insignificant. This statistic has since been discredited as not applying to tanning salons and removed from the CDC’s website, but resulting regulations remain in effect.
- In 2014, dermatology groups claimed that sunbed usage is more dangerous than tobacco based solely on one paper – a discredited analysis of self-administered survey data that was inherently incapable of supporting such a statement. (See #7 for detail.) Unfortunately, this message is still being used today.
This is why the American Suntanning Association has led the charge to establish rigorous scientific standards for research on UV exposure – an effort to end public confusion on this topic. Consider:
- Dermatology organizations have called their use of sunbeds safe, but have referred to lower-intensity indoor tanning units as deadly.
- Vitamin D researchers worldwide are calling for the population to get regular sun exposure again, calling vitamin D deficiency an epidemic problem.
- Sunscreen manufacturers and The Skin Cancer Foundation have called for daily use of sunscreen products year-round to block ALL UV exposure.
- The North American professional indoor tanning community has called for sunburn prevention and skin-type related sun care.
We support the development of consensus methodology in this field, in order to ensure that the quality of research is evaluated objectively and that thoroughly conducted studies are given proper consideration. With this knowledge in hand, stakeholders (including policymakers, legislators, regulators, clinicians, and public and commercial entities) will be better able to evaluate the utility of research methods regarding UV exposure and human health.
This endeavor is called a “rigor project.” It would be led by an independent scientific organization that specializes in developing standards for consumer-related safety research. The project would distinguish credible science from poor-quality or agenda-driven research. It’s a modest request, but it is an endeavor that is sorely needed for the betterment of public health recommendations.