Melanotan II · research summary

A single-centre, prospective, qualitative analysis of knowledge, attitudes and behaviour of sunbed use among patients attending a pigmented lesion clinic in a tertiary referral centre.

Skin health and disease · 2025. Summary drawn from the study's full text. Each statement is followed by the exact sentence it comes from. This is a research summary, not medical advice.

Study type

Prospective qualitative analysis using a self-reported anonymous survey
“We undertook a prospective qualitative analysis of 104 consecutive patients attending a pigmented lesion clinic in a tertiary referral dermatology department in Ireland.”

Subjects

Consecutive patients attending a pigmented lesion clinic in a tertiary referral dermatology department in Ireland
“We undertook a prospective qualitative analysis of 104 consecutive patients attending a pigmented lesion clinic in a tertiary referral dermatology department in Ireland.”

Sample size

104 patients
“We undertook a prospective qualitative analysis of 104 consecutive patients attending a pigmented lesion clinic in a tertiary referral dermatology department in Ireland.”

Reported findings

Increased awareness of health risks did not correlate with reduced sunbed usage
“The principal finding of our study was that increased knowledge and awareness of the risks associated with sunbeds do not correlate with reduced frequency of sunbed use among sunbed users.”
Many sunbed premises did not comply with safety regulations regarding goggles, supervision, and health information
“Many sunbed premises did not comply with safety regulations; over half lacked protective goggles, and nearly half received no health risk information.”
Users of tan-enhancing agents used sunbeds more frequently than non-users
“Users of tan-enhancing agents also used sunbeds more frequently compared with nonusers.”

Limitations stated by the authors

The study was limited to patients attending a specific dermatology clinic and did not assess whether the premises used were registered with the national sunbed office
“It was outside the scope of our study to identify whether or not the premises our patients were attending were registered with the national sunbed office”

Source: PubMed 40584950 · DOI 10.1093/skinhd/vzaf014 · all study summaries

Reported findings

Increased awareness of health risks did not correlate with reduced sunbed usage

“The principal finding of our study was that increased knowledge and awareness of the risks associated with sunbeds do not correlate with reduced frequency of sunbed use among sunbed users.”

Many sunbed premises did not comply with safety regulations regarding goggles, supervision, and health information

“Many sunbed premises did not comply with safety regulations; over half lacked protective goggles, and nearly half received no health risk information.”

Users of tan-enhancing agents used sunbeds more frequently than non-users

“Users of tan-enhancing agents also used sunbeds more frequently compared with nonusers.”

Limitations stated by the authors

The study was limited to patients attending a specific dermatology clinic and did not assess whether the premises used were registered with the national sunbed office

“It was outside the scope of our study to identify whether or not the premises our patients were attending were registered with the national sunbed office”