{"id":10124,"date":"2012-09-12T05:00:41","date_gmt":"2012-09-12T09:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smarttan.com\/news\/?p=10124"},"modified":"2012-09-11T16:19:51","modified_gmt":"2012-09-11T20:19:51","slug":"are-derm-groups-twisting-data","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/are-derm-groups-twisting-data\/","title":{"rendered":"Are Derm Groups Twisting Data?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Dermatology groups who point to data they say suggests an increase in the relative risk of skin cancer for sunbed users compared to non-users probably should also point to data showing that the absolute risk for both groups is lower than people think, according to an article penned on the topic by an officer in the Association of Health Care Journalists.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Ivan Oransky, editor of Reuters Health, wrote that the largest study on this topic suggests that 3 in 1,000 sunbed users get melanoma, in the largest study on this topic, compared to 2 in 1,000 non-users &#8212; and that&#8217;s in a European study that included home and medical use of sunbeds as well as Skin Type I subjects who are known to be at a higher risk.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Oransky cited Wilmington, Del. News Journal reporter Hiran Ratnayake\u2019s work looking into the numbers. \u201cFor some perspective on those numbers, Ratnayake interviewed Lisa Schwartz, M.D.,M.S., whose work on statistical problems in studies and media reports is probably familiar to many AHCJ members,\u201d Oransky wrote.<\/p>\n<p>What did Schwartz tell Ratnayake? \u201cMelanoma is pretty rare and almost all the time, the way to make it look scarier is to present the relative change, the 75 percent increase, rather than to point out that it is still really rare,\u201d Schwartz, a general internist at Veterans Affairs Medical Center in White River Junction, Vt., told him.<\/p>\n<p>Oransky continued, \u201cThis is not an argument for or against tanning beds. It\u2019s an argument for clear explanations of the data behind policy decisions. For some people, the cosmetic benefits of tanning beds \u2013 and the benefit of vitamin D, for which there are, of course, other sources \u2013 might be worth a tiny increase in the risk of melanoma. For others, any increased risk of skin cancer is unacceptable. (And of course, for the tanning industry, the benefits can be measured in other ways \u2013 dollars.) But if reporters leave things at \u201ca 75 percent increase,\u201d you\u2019re not giving your readers the most important information they need to judge for themselves. So when you read a study that says something doubles the risk of some terrible disease, ask: Doubles from what to what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/smarttan.com\/download.php?id=1415\"><strong>Click here to download Oransky\u2019s column.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cMelanoma is pretty rare and almost all the time, the way to make it look scarier is to present the relative change, the 75 percent increase, rather than to point out that it is still really rare,\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>-Schwartz, a general internist at Veterans Affairs Medical Center in White River Junction, Vt.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/smarttan.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/SmartTan_member-content.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-10125 aligncenter\" title=\"SmartTan_member content\" src=\"https:\/\/smarttan.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/SmartTan_member-content.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"350\" height=\"126\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dermatology groups who point to data they say suggests an increase in the relative risk of skin cancer for sunbed users compared to non-users probably should also point to data showing that the absolute risk for both groups is lower than people think, according to an article penned on the topic by an officer in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10124","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Are Derm Groups Twisting Data? - Smart Tan News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Dermatology groups who point to data they say suggests an increase in the relative risk of skin cancer for sunbed users compared to non-users probably should also point to data showing that the absolute risk for both groups is lower than people think, according to an article penned on the topic by an officer in the Association of Health Care Journalists.  Dr. Ivan Oransky, editor of Reuters Health, wrote that the largest study on this topic suggests that 3 in 1,000 sunbed users get melanoma, in the largest study on this topic, compared to 2 in 1,000 non-users -- and that&#039;s in a European study that included home and medical use of sunbeds as well as Skin Type I subjects who are known to be at a higher risk.    Oransky cited Wilmington, Del. News Journal reporter Hiran Ratnayake\u2019s work looking into the numbers. \u201cFor some perspective on those numbers, Ratnayake interviewed Lisa Schwartz, M.D.,M.S., whose work on statistical problems in studies and media reports is probably familiar to many AHCJ members,\u201d Oransky wrote.  What did Schwartz tell Ratnayake? \u201cMelanoma is pretty rare and almost all the time, the way to make it look scarier is to present the relative change, the 75 percent increase, rather than to point out that it is still really rare,\u201d Schwartz, a general internist at Veterans Affairs Medical Center in White River Junction, Vt., told him.  Oransky continued, \u201cThis is not an argument for or against tanning beds. It\u2019s an argument for clear explanations of the data behind policy decisions. For some people, the cosmetic benefits of tanning beds \u2013 and the benefit of vitamin D, for which there are, of course, other sources \u2013 might be worth a tiny increase in the risk of melanoma. For others, any increased risk of skin cancer is unacceptable. (And of course, for the tanning industry, the benefits can be measured in other ways \u2013 dollars.) But if reporters leave things at \u201ca 75 percent increase,\u201d you\u2019re not giving your readers the most important information they need to judge for themselves. So when you read a study that says something doubles the risk of some terrible disease, ask: Doubles from what to what?\u201d  Click here to download Oransky\u2019s column.  \u201cMelanoma is pretty rare and almost all the time, the way to make it look scarier is to present the relative change, the 75 percent increase, rather than to point out that it is still really rare,\u201d  -Schwartz, a general internist at Veterans Affairs Medical Center in White River Junction, Vt.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/are-derm-groups-twisting-data\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Are Derm Groups Twisting Data? - Smart Tan News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Dermatology groups who point to data they say suggests an increase in the relative risk of skin cancer for sunbed users compared to non-users probably should also point to data showing that the absolute risk for both groups is lower than people think, according to an article penned on the topic by an officer in the Association of Health Care Journalists.  Dr. Ivan Oransky, editor of Reuters Health, wrote that the largest study on this topic suggests that 3 in 1,000 sunbed users get melanoma, in the largest study on this topic, compared to 2 in 1,000 non-users -- and that&#039;s in a European study that included home and medical use of sunbeds as well as Skin Type I subjects who are known to be at a higher risk.    Oransky cited Wilmington, Del. News Journal reporter Hiran Ratnayake\u2019s work looking into the numbers. \u201cFor some perspective on those numbers, Ratnayake interviewed Lisa Schwartz, M.D.,M.S., whose work on statistical problems in studies and media reports is probably familiar to many AHCJ members,\u201d Oransky wrote.  What did Schwartz tell Ratnayake? \u201cMelanoma is pretty rare and almost all the time, the way to make it look scarier is to present the relative change, the 75 percent increase, rather than to point out that it is still really rare,\u201d Schwartz, a general internist at Veterans Affairs Medical Center in White River Junction, Vt., told him.  Oransky continued, \u201cThis is not an argument for or against tanning beds. It\u2019s an argument for clear explanations of the data behind policy decisions. For some people, the cosmetic benefits of tanning beds \u2013 and the benefit of vitamin D, for which there are, of course, other sources \u2013 might be worth a tiny increase in the risk of melanoma. For others, any increased risk of skin cancer is unacceptable. (And of course, for the tanning industry, the benefits can be measured in other ways \u2013 dollars.) But if reporters leave things at \u201ca 75 percent increase,\u201d you\u2019re not giving your readers the most important information they need to judge for themselves. So when you read a study that says something doubles the risk of some terrible disease, ask: Doubles from what to what?\u201d  Click here to download Oransky\u2019s column.  \u201cMelanoma is pretty rare and almost all the time, the way to make it look scarier is to present the relative change, the 75 percent increase, rather than to point out that it is still really rare,\u201d  -Schwartz, a general internist at Veterans Affairs Medical Center in White River Junction, Vt.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/are-derm-groups-twisting-data\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Smart Tan News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SmartTan\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-09-12T09:00:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/smarttan.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/SmartTan_member-content.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"smarttannews\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@SmartTan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@SmartTan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"smarttannews\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/are-derm-groups-twisting-data\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/are-derm-groups-twisting-data\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"smarttannews\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/#\/schema\/person\/722dc7049af55e0ed743d67ce9ed4819\"},\"headline\":\"Are Derm Groups Twisting Data?\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-09-12T09:00:41+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/are-derm-groups-twisting-data\/\"},\"wordCount\":424,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/are-derm-groups-twisting-data\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/smarttan.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/SmartTan_member-content.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/are-derm-groups-twisting-data\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/are-derm-groups-twisting-data\/\",\"name\":\"Are Derm Groups Twisting Data? - Smart Tan News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/are-derm-groups-twisting-data\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/are-derm-groups-twisting-data\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/smarttan.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/SmartTan_member-content.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-09-12T09:00:41+00:00\",\"description\":\"Dermatology groups who point to data they say suggests an increase in the relative risk of skin cancer for sunbed users compared to non-users probably should also point to data showing that the absolute risk for both groups is lower than people think, according to an article penned on the topic by an officer in the Association of Health Care Journalists. Dr. Ivan Oransky, editor of Reuters Health, wrote that the largest study on this topic suggests that 3 in 1,000 sunbed users get melanoma, in the largest study on this topic, compared to 2 in 1,000 non-users -- and that's in a European study that included home and medical use of sunbeds as well as Skin Type I subjects who are known to be at a higher risk. Oransky cited Wilmington, Del. News Journal reporter Hiran Ratnayake\u2019s work looking into the numbers. \u201cFor some perspective on those numbers, Ratnayake interviewed Lisa Schwartz, M.D.,M.S., whose work on statistical problems in studies and media reports is probably familiar to many AHCJ members,\u201d Oransky wrote. What did Schwartz tell Ratnayake? \u201cMelanoma is pretty rare and almost all the time, the way to make it look scarier is to present the relative change, the 75 percent increase, rather than to point out that it is still really rare,\u201d Schwartz, a general internist at Veterans Affairs Medical Center in White River Junction, Vt., told him. Oransky continued, \u201cThis is not an argument for or against tanning beds. It\u2019s an argument for clear explanations of the data behind policy decisions. For some people, the cosmetic benefits of tanning beds \u2013 and the benefit of vitamin D, for which there are, of course, other sources \u2013 might be worth a tiny increase in the risk of melanoma. For others, any increased risk of skin cancer is unacceptable. (And of course, for the tanning industry, the benefits can be measured in other ways \u2013 dollars.) But if reporters leave things at \u201ca 75 percent increase,\u201d you\u2019re not giving your readers the most important information they need to judge for themselves. So when you read a study that says something doubles the risk of some terrible disease, ask: Doubles from what to what?\u201d Click here to download Oransky\u2019s column. \u201cMelanoma is pretty rare and almost all the time, the way to make it look scarier is to present the relative change, the 75 percent increase, rather than to point out that it is still really rare,\u201d -Schwartz, a general internist at Veterans Affairs Medical Center in White River Junction, Vt.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/are-derm-groups-twisting-data\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/are-derm-groups-twisting-data\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/are-derm-groups-twisting-data\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/smarttan.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/SmartTan_member-content.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/smarttan.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/SmartTan_member-content.png\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/are-derm-groups-twisting-data\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Are Derm Groups Twisting Data?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/\",\"name\":\"Smart Tan News\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Smart Tan\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/smarttan.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Smart-Tan.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/smarttan.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Smart-Tan.png\",\"width\":500,\"height\":164,\"caption\":\"Smart Tan\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SmartTan\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/SmartTan\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/#\/schema\/person\/722dc7049af55e0ed743d67ce9ed4819\",\"name\":\"smarttannews\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c0189f76465f47ce293287354f8076bfdb83130e65538eb34fcd2cd44e9f0e53?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c0189f76465f47ce293287354f8076bfdb83130e65538eb34fcd2cd44e9f0e53?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c0189f76465f47ce293287354f8076bfdb83130e65538eb34fcd2cd44e9f0e53?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"smarttannews\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/author\/smarttannews\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Are Derm Groups Twisting Data? - Smart Tan News","description":"Dermatology groups who point to data they say suggests an increase in the relative risk of skin cancer for sunbed users compared to non-users probably should also point to data showing that the absolute risk for both groups is lower than people think, according to an article penned on the topic by an officer in the Association of Health Care Journalists.  Dr. Ivan Oransky, editor of Reuters Health, wrote that the largest study on this topic suggests that 3 in 1,000 sunbed users get melanoma, in the largest study on this topic, compared to 2 in 1,000 non-users -- and that's in a European study that included home and medical use of sunbeds as well as Skin Type I subjects who are known to be at a higher risk.    Oransky cited Wilmington, Del. News Journal reporter Hiran Ratnayake\u2019s work looking into the numbers. \u201cFor some perspective on those numbers, Ratnayake interviewed Lisa Schwartz, M.D.,M.S., whose work on statistical problems in studies and media reports is probably familiar to many AHCJ members,\u201d Oransky wrote.  What did Schwartz tell Ratnayake? \u201cMelanoma is pretty rare and almost all the time, the way to make it look scarier is to present the relative change, the 75 percent increase, rather than to point out that it is still really rare,\u201d Schwartz, a general internist at Veterans Affairs Medical Center in White River Junction, Vt., told him.  Oransky continued, \u201cThis is not an argument for or against tanning beds. It\u2019s an argument for clear explanations of the data behind policy decisions. For some people, the cosmetic benefits of tanning beds \u2013 and the benefit of vitamin D, for which there are, of course, other sources \u2013 might be worth a tiny increase in the risk of melanoma. For others, any increased risk of skin cancer is unacceptable. (And of course, for the tanning industry, the benefits can be measured in other ways \u2013 dollars.) But if reporters leave things at \u201ca 75 percent increase,\u201d you\u2019re not giving your readers the most important information they need to judge for themselves. So when you read a study that says something doubles the risk of some terrible disease, ask: Doubles from what to what?\u201d  Click here to download Oransky\u2019s column.  \u201cMelanoma is pretty rare and almost all the time, the way to make it look scarier is to present the relative change, the 75 percent increase, rather than to point out that it is still really rare,\u201d  -Schwartz, a general internist at Veterans Affairs Medical Center in White River Junction, Vt.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/are-derm-groups-twisting-data\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Are Derm Groups Twisting Data? - Smart Tan News","og_description":"Dermatology groups who point to data they say suggests an increase in the relative risk of skin cancer for sunbed users compared to non-users probably should also point to data showing that the absolute risk for both groups is lower than people think, according to an article penned on the topic by an officer in the Association of Health Care Journalists.  Dr. Ivan Oransky, editor of Reuters Health, wrote that the largest study on this topic suggests that 3 in 1,000 sunbed users get melanoma, in the largest study on this topic, compared to 2 in 1,000 non-users -- and that's in a European study that included home and medical use of sunbeds as well as Skin Type I subjects who are known to be at a higher risk.    Oransky cited Wilmington, Del. News Journal reporter Hiran Ratnayake\u2019s work looking into the numbers. \u201cFor some perspective on those numbers, Ratnayake interviewed Lisa Schwartz, M.D.,M.S., whose work on statistical problems in studies and media reports is probably familiar to many AHCJ members,\u201d Oransky wrote.  What did Schwartz tell Ratnayake? \u201cMelanoma is pretty rare and almost all the time, the way to make it look scarier is to present the relative change, the 75 percent increase, rather than to point out that it is still really rare,\u201d Schwartz, a general internist at Veterans Affairs Medical Center in White River Junction, Vt., told him.  Oransky continued, \u201cThis is not an argument for or against tanning beds. It\u2019s an argument for clear explanations of the data behind policy decisions. For some people, the cosmetic benefits of tanning beds \u2013 and the benefit of vitamin D, for which there are, of course, other sources \u2013 might be worth a tiny increase in the risk of melanoma. For others, any increased risk of skin cancer is unacceptable. (And of course, for the tanning industry, the benefits can be measured in other ways \u2013 dollars.) But if reporters leave things at \u201ca 75 percent increase,\u201d you\u2019re not giving your readers the most important information they need to judge for themselves. So when you read a study that says something doubles the risk of some terrible disease, ask: Doubles from what to what?\u201d  Click here to download Oransky\u2019s column.  \u201cMelanoma is pretty rare and almost all the time, the way to make it look scarier is to present the relative change, the 75 percent increase, rather than to point out that it is still really rare,\u201d  -Schwartz, a general internist at Veterans Affairs Medical Center in White River Junction, Vt.","og_url":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/are-derm-groups-twisting-data\/","og_site_name":"Smart Tan News","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SmartTan","article_published_time":"2012-09-12T09:00:41+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/smarttan.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/SmartTan_member-content.png","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"smarttannews","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@SmartTan","twitter_site":"@SmartTan","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"smarttannews","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/are-derm-groups-twisting-data\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/are-derm-groups-twisting-data\/"},"author":{"name":"smarttannews","@id":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/#\/schema\/person\/722dc7049af55e0ed743d67ce9ed4819"},"headline":"Are Derm Groups Twisting Data?","datePublished":"2012-09-12T09:00:41+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/are-derm-groups-twisting-data\/"},"wordCount":424,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/are-derm-groups-twisting-data\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/smarttan.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/SmartTan_member-content.png","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/are-derm-groups-twisting-data\/","url":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/are-derm-groups-twisting-data\/","name":"Are Derm Groups Twisting Data? - Smart Tan News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/are-derm-groups-twisting-data\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/are-derm-groups-twisting-data\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/smarttan.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/SmartTan_member-content.png","datePublished":"2012-09-12T09:00:41+00:00","description":"Dermatology groups who point to data they say suggests an increase in the relative risk of skin cancer for sunbed users compared to non-users probably should also point to data showing that the absolute risk for both groups is lower than people think, according to an article penned on the topic by an officer in the Association of Health Care Journalists. Dr. Ivan Oransky, editor of Reuters Health, wrote that the largest study on this topic suggests that 3 in 1,000 sunbed users get melanoma, in the largest study on this topic, compared to 2 in 1,000 non-users -- and that's in a European study that included home and medical use of sunbeds as well as Skin Type I subjects who are known to be at a higher risk. Oransky cited Wilmington, Del. News Journal reporter Hiran Ratnayake\u2019s work looking into the numbers. \u201cFor some perspective on those numbers, Ratnayake interviewed Lisa Schwartz, M.D.,M.S., whose work on statistical problems in studies and media reports is probably familiar to many AHCJ members,\u201d Oransky wrote. What did Schwartz tell Ratnayake? \u201cMelanoma is pretty rare and almost all the time, the way to make it look scarier is to present the relative change, the 75 percent increase, rather than to point out that it is still really rare,\u201d Schwartz, a general internist at Veterans Affairs Medical Center in White River Junction, Vt., told him. Oransky continued, \u201cThis is not an argument for or against tanning beds. It\u2019s an argument for clear explanations of the data behind policy decisions. For some people, the cosmetic benefits of tanning beds \u2013 and the benefit of vitamin D, for which there are, of course, other sources \u2013 might be worth a tiny increase in the risk of melanoma. For others, any increased risk of skin cancer is unacceptable. (And of course, for the tanning industry, the benefits can be measured in other ways \u2013 dollars.) But if reporters leave things at \u201ca 75 percent increase,\u201d you\u2019re not giving your readers the most important information they need to judge for themselves. So when you read a study that says something doubles the risk of some terrible disease, ask: Doubles from what to what?\u201d Click here to download Oransky\u2019s column. \u201cMelanoma is pretty rare and almost all the time, the way to make it look scarier is to present the relative change, the 75 percent increase, rather than to point out that it is still really rare,\u201d -Schwartz, a general internist at Veterans Affairs Medical Center in White River Junction, Vt.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/are-derm-groups-twisting-data\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/are-derm-groups-twisting-data\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/are-derm-groups-twisting-data\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/smarttan.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/SmartTan_member-content.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/smarttan.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/SmartTan_member-content.png"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/are-derm-groups-twisting-data\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Are Derm Groups Twisting Data?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/","name":"Smart Tan News","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/#organization","name":"Smart Tan","url":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/smarttan.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Smart-Tan.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/smarttan.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Smart-Tan.png","width":500,"height":164,"caption":"Smart Tan"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SmartTan","https:\/\/x.com\/SmartTan"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/#\/schema\/person\/722dc7049af55e0ed743d67ce9ed4819","name":"smarttannews","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c0189f76465f47ce293287354f8076bfdb83130e65538eb34fcd2cd44e9f0e53?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c0189f76465f47ce293287354f8076bfdb83130e65538eb34fcd2cd44e9f0e53?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c0189f76465f47ce293287354f8076bfdb83130e65538eb34fcd2cd44e9f0e53?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"smarttannews"},"url":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/author\/smarttannews\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10124","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10124"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10124\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10128,"href":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10124\/revisions\/10128"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10124"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10124"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10124"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}