Knowledge and practice of recreational tanning among female college students in the Eastern province of Saudi Arabia. A cross sectional study

Recreational tanning has become popular among young Saudi women. This study investigates whether Saudi female college students are practicing recreational tanning and analyzes the level of their awareness regarding the consequences of tanning as a cause for skin cancer and photoaging. A cross-sectional study of randomly selected female college students from two non-medical universities from the Eastern province of Saudi Arabia. The total number of participants was n = 249. About 21.5% of participants with skin type I–II preferred outdoor tanning and no one preferred indoor tanning. Of those with skin type III–V, 23% preferred outdoor tanning, and 2.5% preferred indoor tanning. Among subjects who practiced both indoor and outdoor tanning 63% stayed more than 20 min while 36% stayed less than 20 min. The use of sunscreen was practiced in 70% of those who tanned. Sixty percent of subjects did not know that tanning caused early skin aging and 44% did not know the relationship of skin cancer and tanning. A significant number of Saudi female college students practice recreational tanning, regardless of their skin type. There is a clear lack of knowledge on tanning effect on risk of skin cancer and photoaging.