Tanning dependence
Tanning dependence or tanorexia (a portmanteau of tanning and anorexia) is a syndrome where an individual appears to have a physical or psychological dependence on sunbathing or the use of ultraviolet (UV) tanning beds to darken the complexion of the skin. Compulsive tanning may satisfy the definition of a behavioral addiction as well. Medical evidence Tanning dependence may have a physiological basis involving endogenous opioids. There is evidence that UV exposure produces beta-endorphin in the epidermis and conflicting evidence of this opioid being released into the blood system, a pathway to the brain. A small study also found the opioid antagonist naltrexone reduced preference for UV tanning beds and at higher doses produced withdraw symptoms in frequent tanners. Better understanding of tanning dependence requires further controlled studies, especially in imaging and neurobiology. The finding that excessive tanning can lead to dependence is based upon "the observations of many dermatologists." Dermatologists tell researchers that although they advise their patients not to visit tanning beds because of the risk of melanoma, patients still do. In a 2014 literature review, researchers wrote that many people who tan excessively meet psychiatry's symptom criteria for substance abuse. In a case where ten studies provided data