title: A multicentre epidemiological study on sunbed use and cutaneous melanoma in Europe.
abstract: A large European case-control study investigated the association between sunbed use and cutaneous melanoma in an adult population aged between 18 and 49 years. Between 1999 and 2001 sun and sunbed exposure was recorded in 597 newly diagnosed melanoma cases and 622 controls in Belgium, France, The Netherlands, Sweden and the UK. Fifty three percent of cases and 57% of controls ever used sunbeds. The overall adjusted odds ratio (OR) associated with ever sunbed use was 0.90 (95% CI: 0.71-1.14). There was a South-to-North gradient with high prevalence of sunbed exposure in Northern Europe and lower prevalence in the South (prevalence of use in France 20%, OR: 1.19 (0.68-2.07) compared to Sweden, prevalence 83%, relative risk 0.62 (0.26-1.46)). Dose and lag-time between first exposure to sunbeds and time of study were not associated with melanoma risk, neither were sunbathing and sunburns (adjusted OR for mean number of weeks spent in sunny climates >14 years: 1.12 (0.88-1.43); adjusted OR for any sunburn >14 years: 1.16 (0.9-1.45)). Host factors such as numbers of naevi and skin type were the strongest risk indicators for melanoma. Public health campaigns have improved knowledge regarding risk of UV-radiation for skin cancers and this may have led to recall and selection biases in both cases and controls in this study. Sunbed exposure has become increasingly prevalent over the last 20 years, especially in Northern Europe but the full impact of this exposure on skin cancers may not become apparent for many years.
authors.affiliation: Cancer Research UK Centre for Epidemiology, Mathematics and Statistics, Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, Queen Mary, London, UK. veronique.bataille@cancer.org.uk
authors.forename: Véronique
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Bataille
authors.forename: Mathieu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Boniol
authors.forename: Esther
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: De Vries
authors.forename: Gianluca
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Severi
authors.forename: Yvonne
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Brandberg
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sasieni
authors.forename: Jack
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cuzick
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Eggermont
authors.forename: Ulrik
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Ringborg
authors.forename: André-Robert
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Grivegnée
authors.forename: Jan Willem
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Coebergh
authors.forename: Marie Christine
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Chignol
authors.forename: Jean-François
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Doré
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Autier
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005060:Europe / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008545:Melanoma / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009381:Neoplasms, Radiation-Induced / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays / Q000009:adverse effects*