Khaberni - A recent scientific study concluded that tattoos, which are enjoyed by many and placed on various body sites, expose individuals to significant risk, as they increase the risk of skin cancer by up to 29%.
According to a report published by the specialized scientific site "Science Alert" and reviewed by "Alarabiya.net", scientists have found that individuals with tattoos are at a 29% higher risk of developing skin cancer, a serious form of cancer often associated with exposure to ultraviolet radiation.
However, tattoos do not appear to increase the risk of developing squamous cell carcinoma, another type of skin cancer linked to ultraviolet damage.
Although both types of cancer share the cause, they arise from different types of cells and differ in their severity, with skin cancer being much more serious than squamous cell carcinoma.
These findings come as a shock in circles of many Western youths who consider tattoos a powerful means of self-expression and a cornerstone of identity, where in Sweden alone, for example, about one in every three adults has a tattoo.
Both skin cancer (melanoma) and squamous cell carcinoma develop slowly, and are relatively rare, which complicates conducting long-term research on them, as monitoring large groups of tattooed and non-tattooed individuals for many years would be costly and time-consuming, according to scientists.
The research team that conducted the new study in Sweden said they monitored people who had been diagnosed with cancer previously, and then looked back to see who had a tattoo, in order to reach these conclusions.
Sweden maintains high-quality national records that record health and demographic information, where from the national cancer registry, researchers identified all individuals aged between 20 and 60 years who were diagnosed with skin cancer (melanoma) in 2017 or with squamous cell carcinoma between 2014 and 2017, and then studied them to reach these conclusions.
Individuals with tattoos were found to be 29% more likely to develop skin cancer compared to those without tattoos. The researchers also found that the increased risk was higher among those who had had tattoos for more than ten years.
