A new study has found that having a tattoo could increase your risk of developing a rare type of cancer by 21%. Researchers in Sweden discovered a potential link between tattoos and lymphoma, a type of blood cancer that affects the immune system.
RELATED: Who Is Hailie Jade Scott’s husband? All About Evan McClintock
Researchers from Lynd University investigated the relationship between tattoos and long-term health effects. Dr. Christel Nielsen, who led the study, emphasized, “It is important to remember that lymphoma is a rare disease and that our results apply at the group level. The results now need to be verified and investigated further in other studies, and such research is ongoing.”
The study involved 11,905 people, with 2,938 participants having lymphoma. Among those with lymphoma, 21% were tattooed, compared to 18% in the control group without lymphoma. After considering other factors such as smoking and age, the researchers found a 21% higher risk of developing lymphoma among those with tattoos.
Interestingly, the size of the tattoo did not affect the risk, meaning a full-body tattoo did not increase the risk any more than a smaller tattoo would. The most common subtypes of cancer found were diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (28%), Hodgkin lymphoma (21%), and follicular lymphoma (18%).
Dr. Nielsen noted that the exact cause is still unknown, speculating that a tattoo might trigger low-grade inflammation in the body, which in turn could trigger cancer. She explained, “We already know that when the tattoo ink is injected into the skin, the body interprets this as something foreign, and the immune system is activated. A large part of the ink is transported away from the skin to the lymph nodes where it is deposited.”
RELATED: How Many Seasons Of Big Brother Are There?
The researchers highlighted the need for further investigation to explore any other associations between tattoos and other types of cancer and to understand the underlying causes.
Alizia Wann