A new study has shown that tattoos can pose a serious threat to health. Due to the lack of research in this area, Lund University in Sweden decided to study the long-term effects of tattoos on health.
Christel Nielsen, who led the study, said her team studied a large group of 11,905 people to learn more about the link between tattoos and lymphoma.
Lymphoma is a rare blood cancer that spreads from white blood cells to a network of organs that help the body fight infections.
They found people diagnosed with lymphoma through population registries, says Nielsen. The study participants answered a questionnaire about lifestyle factors to determine whether or not they had tattoos. Out of these 11,905 people, 2,938 were diagnosed with lymphoma at the age of 20-60.
In the group with lymphoma, 21 percent had tattoos, while in the control group without a diagnosis of lymphoma, 18 percent had tattoos.
Researchers have concluded that the size of the tattoo can increase the risk of developing lymphoma, and that the location of the tattoo on the body is not important.
