Who's Most Likely to Get Skin Cancer? Gay & Bi Men, That's Who

According to a newly released study on skin cancer, gay and bisexual men in the U.S. twice as likely as straight men to develop the disease, partly because they are also three times more likely to use indoor tanning methods to achieve the sun-kissed look.

Compiled using California government health surveys taken from 2001 to 2009 and a national health survey from 2013, the study found that gay and bi men had twice the rate of skin cancer as straight men, reports USA Today. In the national survey, 6.6 percent of gay and bi men had a history of skin cancer, compared with 3.3 percent for heterosexual men,

The study was conducted by the University of California, San Francisco, and presented to the American Academy of Dermatology today. Researchers said the data points up the need to get a message about the health risks of tanning to a broad audience. Most messaging is aimed at straight women, but the word needs to be spread to gay and bisexual men too, they said.

"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," Sarah Arron, a UCSF associate professor of dermatology, told USA Today. "We need to dispel the myth of the healthy tan."

The study noted that only 1.7 percent of straight men said they used indoor tanning services within the past year, as opposed to 5 percent of gay and bi men. Lesbians and bi women, on the other hand, were less likely than straight women to use these services.

LGBT activists added that gay and bisexual men's higher rate of skin cancer might also be due to reluctance to seek regular health care, including skin checks, due to fear of discriminatory treatment or lack of insurance.