As revealed by a latest study conducted to examine the relationship between ultraviolet light exposure, melanoma incidence and socioeconomic status, the well heeled young white women who apparently are more prone of getting tanned are nearly six times as likely to develop the lethal skin cancer melanoma.

For conducting this study, scientists studied data from 3,800 white girls and women in California. This data was collected from two different periods a decade apart. All the females involved were aged between 15 and 39.

In the three highest socioeconomic levels, such diagnosis was found to be increasing in a most significant manner over the period of time. Among the total number of women, 3,842 were diagnosed with melanomas.

The study also revealed that the cause of higher melanoma rates among the women of top two levels is linked to UV radiation exposure. In this regard, the co-author of study, Christina A. Clarke, who is also known to be a research scientist at Cancer Prevention Institute of California, said, "I think we originally thought that UV-sunnier areas have more melanoma . . . but it was not as powerful a predictor as socioeconomic status, and really, you need the two together".