Abstract
Tattooing and piercing may lead to health complications. The present multicenter cross-sectional study aimed to assess awareness and knowledge of health risks related to body art and to identify their possible determinants among a large sample of undergraduates in Italy. A web-based questionnaire collecting information on socio-demographic characteristics, awareness, knowledge, and some potential predictors was administered to undergraduates attending twelve Italian universities. The level of knowledge was expressed as the number of correct answers (0–11 for tattooing, 0–14 for piercing). A total of 2985 participants (mean age 23.15 ± 3.99, 73.9% F) participated in the study. Although 95.4% of the respondents were aware of possible health consequences of body art, a low level of specific knowledge was registered for both tattooing (mean number of correct answers 5.38 ± 2.39) and piercing (5.93 ± 3.12) consequences. Lower knowledge was associated with the attendance of non-life science course and with lower duration of academic education for both tattoo and piercing. Lower knowledge of tattooing risks was related with commuter status, while lower knowledge of piercing risks was associated with lower father’s education. These findings highlight the need to enhance information campaigns targeted to youths to increase their awareness of possible health risk of body art.
Highlights
In the last decades, body art practices such as tattooing and piercing have increased in popularity, becoming an accepted practice, and losing in people’s perception their traditional connection with deviant behaviors [1,2,3]
This study was aimed at assessing the awareness of undergraduates from Italian universities about health risks related to body art
A low level of specific knowledge was registered in the sample, in line with the insufficient knowledge on threats, contraindications, and complications related to tattoo and piercing practices of college students reported by previous studies [19,20,21,22,23]
Summary
Body art practices such as tattooing and piercing have increased in popularity, becoming an accepted practice, and losing in people’s perception their traditional connection with deviant behaviors [1,2,3]. Tattooing consists in the introduction of exogenous pigments into the dermis, resulting in a permanent design [3]. Tattoo ink may be made from several pigmented substances, including ashes, oils, and synthetic dyes. To make it available for fibroblast trapping, pigment is deposited to a depth of 1 to 2 mm into the dermis by using various instruments. A sharp tool is used to cut the surface of the skin, and the pigment is pressed into the wound. Modern tattooing techniques employ motorized tattoo machines, which is less painful and allows for a more controlled application of ink, enabling the artist to produce more accurate designs and leading to minor bleeding [5]
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