A Swedish study published in the journal eClinical Medicine suggests that tattoo ink can increase the risk of lymphoma, a type of cancer that involves the lymph nodes.
Researchers compared the answers to a questionnaire about lifestyle factors filled out by 1,398 adults who had developed lymphoma between the ages of 20 and 60 and 4,193 adults without lymphoma.
In the lymphoma group, 21 per cent were tattooed compared with 18 per cent in the group without a lymphoma diagnosis. Those who were tattooed had a 21 per cent increased risk of developing malignant lymphoma after accounting for age, smoking and other relevant factors.
Surprisingly, the size of the tattoo did not matter. “We do not yet know why this was the case," the lead researcher said. "One can only speculate that a tattoo, regardless of size, triggers a low-grade inflammation in the body, which, in turn, can trigger cancer.”
"We already know that when the tattoo ink is injected into the skin, the body interprets this as something foreign that should not be there 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."
Most people get their first tattoo when they are young, and they are exposed to tattoo ink for a large part of their lives.