Gay men twice as likely to get skin cancer, study finds

A new study has revealed an alarming health risk for the LGBT community: Gay and bisexual men are twice as likely as heterosexual men to get skin cancer.

The findings, revealed in a study by the American Academy of Dermatology and reported in USA Today, also come with one very likely explanation: gay and bisexual men are three times more likely to engage in indoor tanning.

“The primary reason that men and women engage in indoor tanning is because of the cultural association of tanning with a healthy look and overall attractiveness,” researcher Sarah Arron told USA Today. “We need to dispel the myth of the healthy tan.”

The study points out that anti-tanning messages are most often aimed at young women, and need to be broadened to also target gay men.

However, indoor tanning in tanning beds and the like may not be solely responsible for the higher rates of skin cancer in gay men.

Follow-up studies should ‘look at sun exposure and use of sunscreen and other protective measures to fully sort out what prevention messages are needed’, Arron says.