Beware tattoos may pose risks of getting diseases

Previously, the consensus on using statins for primary prevention of heart disease in adults aged 75 years or older has been little because of a lack of proper representation of the population in randomised controlled trials, said researchers from the University of Hong Kong

Love to get tattooed? Beware, the ink and needle used may raise your risk of getting diseases like Hepatitis B, C, HIV, and even cancers of the liver and blood, warned doctors on Wednesday.

Tattoos have become very popular, especially among the youth, as a form of body art and a means of expressing their thoughts or passion.

"The most obvious health concerns emanate from the use of possibly infected needles used to draw these tattoos in non-expert hands & the risk of contracting infections like Hepatitis B, C or even HIV," Suhail Qureshi, Additional Director & Unit Head - Medical Oncology, Fortis Hospital Shalimar Bagh, said. In a recent study of 11,905 individuals, by researchers at Lund University in Sweden, tattooed individuals were found to have a higher risk of lymphoma. The risk of lymphoma was highest in individuals with less than two years since their first tattoo.

The risk associated with tattoo exposure seemed to be highest for large B-cell lymphoma and follicular lymphoma.

"This is because the tattoo ink, which may contain polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) -- a known carcinogen, is injected into the skin. The body treats it as a foreign object that should not be there, and the immune system gets activated. A large part of the ink is transported away from the skin, to the lymph nodes where it is deposited," Tushar Tayal, Consultant, Internal Medicine, CK Birla Hospital, Gurugram, said.