Doctors urged to counsel young people on sun’s dangers

Just in time for the start of tanning season, a federal task force is formally recommending that physicians counsel children, adolescents and young adults with fair skin about minimizing ultraviolet-light exposure to cut the risk for skin cancer. As reported in November, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force issued a draft recommendation for comment with a novel idea: Rather than focus on the specter of cancer later in life, hone in on the sun’s harsh effects on appearance, which is likely to resonate more with teens who flock to beaches and tanning parlors. The recommendation — available on the USPSTF website and in the Annals of Internal Medicine — replaces a 2003 statement that the evidence was insufficient to recommend for or against counseling. Task force chairwoman Dr. Virginia Moyer tells the Health Blog that over the last decade, researchers have built up evidence showing that the behavior of teens and young adults can be changed with a variety of counseling approaches, such as  showing them photos taken with a UV camera to demonstrate the extent to which UV rays can damage the skin. Moyer, a professor at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, says public comments on the recommendations were generally favorable. The task force doesn’t recommend any particular way to discuss appearance, but the basic message is: “In people who are sensitive, exposure to sun and tanning beds results in ugly skin,” she says. “We aren’t being underhanded in any way to suggest this is a good way to get the message across, because the damage that causes ugly skin is the damage that causes skin cancer down the road.” With primary care doctors stretched for time already, will counseling take up too much time? Moyer says the message can be delivered in the course of general advice but that doctors can use their office staff and waiting room time to show videos of the sun damage to skin or use the UV cameras on patients. “If patients have to wait anyway, why not use the time for something beneficial,” she adds.