Tattoos of any size increase risk of developing lymph node cancer

Until now, there has been little research on the long-term health effects of tattoos, but researchers at

A research group led by Christer Nielsen, an epidemiologist at Lund University, conducted a study on people diagnosed with lymphoma to determine how tattoos affect their health, using the fact that tattoo pigments are deposited in the lymph nodes as a clue.

The research group first selected 11,905 people with a diagnosis of lymphoma registered in the Swedish National Cancer Registry. Of these, 2,938 had lymphoma between the ages of 20 and 60, and 1,398 participated in the survey. In addition, 4,193 people served as a control group.

Twenty-one percent (289 people) of the lymphoma group had tattoos, compared with 18% (735 people) of the control group.

The researchers conducted a lifestyle survey of participants and found that after controlling for related factors such as smoking and age, people with tattoos had a 21% higher risk of developing lymphoma compared to those without tattoos.

'Lymphoma is a rare disease, so these findings apply at a population level and need to be verified and investigated in other studies,' Nielsen said, calling for more research.

Before the study began, the research group hypothesized that the size of a tattoo might affect the risk of lymphoma, but the study found that the size of a tattoo was unrelated to the risk of developing lymphoma.

'We don't yet know why, but we can speculate that tattoos of any size cause a low-level inflammation in the body that could potentially trigger cancer,' Nielsen said. 'We already know that when tattoo ink is injected into the skin, the body interprets it as a foreign substance that shouldn't be there and activates the immune system. Most of the ink is transported from the skin to the lymph nodes, where it is deposited.'

The research group plans to continue their research into the relationship between tattoos and cancers other than lymphoma, as well as other inflammatory diseases, to confirm the association between tattoos and other conditions.

'While some people want to express their identity through tattoos, it's wise to be aware that tattoos may affect their health and to consult a health care professional if you experience any symptoms that you think may be related to your tattoo,' Nielsen said.