Rates of melanoma among young white women have more than doubled in the past three decades, and wealthier, more educated women appear to be at greatest risk. Experts aren’t sure why, but a new study suggests that these women may be at increased risk because they are spending more leisure time outdoors.
Researchers at the Cancer Prevention Institute of California studied 3,842 cases of melanoma in 3,800 white women younger than 40 who received the diagnosis between 1988 and 1992 and between 1998 and 2002, incorporating census data and ultraviolet radiation exposure measures from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The analysis, published in Archives of Dermatology, was limited to invasive cancers. Melanoma rates increased significantly during the study periods only among higher-income women, the researchers found. Women from the highest-income areas were nearly six times as likely to have malignant melanoma as those in the poorest areas.
“We think this has to do with cultural preferences in higher-income groups for tanning, having the time to tan and the means to pay for tanning beds, and sun exposure on vacations in the middle of winter,” said Christina A. Clarke, senior author of the paper.
