Prevalence of Tanning Among Medical and Non-Medical Students in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Background: Tanning is described as the transformation of skin colour to brown or bronze. This process is often caused by exposure to ultraviolet radiation by the sun or artificial sources. Exposure to ultraviolet radiation is considered the primary risk factor for skin damage and skin cancer. However, a few studies were conducted to estimate the prevalence of tanning in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, we aimed to assess the prevalence of tanning among medical and non-medical students in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Methods: Ethical approval was obtained from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of Fakeeh care. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among medical and non-medical university students in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. During the academic year of 2019-2020. A validated questionnaire was distributed via an online survey. Students with any dermatological problems preventing them from tanning were excluded. We consider P-value=0.05 statically significant and the Confidence Interval (CI) is 95% by using the Chi-square test.

Results: Almost 63.1% (n=422) of our participants reported practicing skin tanning. Half of them were outdoor tanners 50.1% (n=335), 11.5% (n=77) were self-tanners, and 1.5% (n=10) were indoor tanners. On the other hand, 35.6% (n=238) of the participants did not tan at all. 1.3% (n=9) preferred not to say.

Conclusions: Our study showed that college students from both genders are significantly interested in tanning. Outdoor tanning was the most preferred method. The results of this study emphasize the critical need to create community-counseling campaigns to increase awareness about tanning and its relationship with skin cancer and photoaging. Counseling health education that focuses on the importance of sunscreen use, especially among males. Sunless tanning products should be promoted.