Tattoos have become increasingly popular, serving as a form of self-expression. About 40 per cent of women and 30 per cent of men will have tattoos by the age of 25. But are they safe?
A Danish study published in the journal _BMC Public Health_ found that lymphoma and skin cancers are more common among individuals with tattoos than those without. Previous research has shown that tattoo ink does not stay confined to the injection site. Particles from the ink can migrate and accumulate in the lymph nodes and trigger chronic inflammation which could eventually lead to abnormal cell growth and an increased risk of cancer.
To explore the long-term health consequences of tattoos, the researchers used data from over 5,900 twins. The findings revealed that tattooed individuals had a higher prevalence of lymphoma and skin cancers. Those with larger tattoos (bigger than the size of a palm) faced an even greater risk. Tattoos increased a person’s risk of skin cancer between 33 per cent and 62 per cent.
For those with larger tattoos, the risk of skin cancer was 2.37 times higher, and the risk of lymphoma was 2.73 times higher when comparing twins where one twin had skin cancer and the other didn’t. Overall, people with tattoos had a 3.91 times higher risk of skin cancer and a 2.83 times higher risk of basal cell carcinoma.
Studying the direct impact of tattoos on cancer risk is challenging because cancer typically takes years to develop. Exposure during youth may lead to a cancer diagnosis only much later in life.