We know that tattoos do have certain risks, especially infections from needles that aren’t properly sterilized, but that’s pretty rare these days as most licensed tattoo parlors are strict about sanitary measures.
However, there hasn’t been much research into whether tattoos are linked to other conditions such as cancer.
In a paper published on 21 May 2024 in EClinicalMedicine, Christel Nielsen, PhD, of Lund University in Sweden, and colleagues examined the medical records of nearly 12,000 individuals in Sweden.
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Here are the key results from the study:
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The group with tattoos had a 21% higher risk of overall lymphoma compared with non-tattooed individuals after adjusting for factors such as education, age, income, and smoking status.
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It’s important to note that this study only showed an association between tattoos and malignant lymphoma, but it does not establish causality. There may be some other factor that is different between the tattoo and non-tattoo groups that increases the risk for lymphoma.
