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Psoriasis and Sunbeds — SCE Dermatology MCQ

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EasyPhotobiologyPsoriasis and SunbedsSCE Dermatology

A 25-year-old woman has psoriasis and is planning to use a tanning bed for cosmetic tanning. Her dermatologist advises against this. What is the specific concern about sunbed use in psoriasis patients?

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Correct answer: B — Sunbeds emit predominantly UVA which is less therapeutic for psoriasis than NB-UVB and increases skin cancer risk without supervised dose control

Commercial sunbeds predominantly emit UVA (with variable UVB), which is less therapeutically effective for psoriasis than narrowband UVB (311 nm). Crucially, sunbed use lacks the safety features of medical phototherapy: no MED-based dosing protocol, no cumulative dose monitoring, no regular skin cancer surveillance, and inconsistent output between devices. WHO/IARC classifies sunbeds as Group 1 carcinogens. BAD guidelines explicitly recommend against sunbed use for psoriasis (or any other purpose). Patients should be directed to supervised NB-UVB phototherapy in a dermatology department where doses are carefully controlled and cumulative exposure monitored.

Reference: BAD 2019 Phototherapy Guidelines; WHO/IARC