title: Socio-epidemiologic aspects and cutaneous side effects of permanent tattoos in Germany - Tattoos are not restricted to a specific social phenotype.
abstract: Background: More and more people of all age classes have a tattoo. Intriguingly, there are multiple prejudices in the general population and published data that concern tattooed persons, such as being criminals, having a low education, being alcohol or drug abusers, or more risky in their life style.Objective: To obtain and to evaluate sociodemographic data on tattooed persons, to investigate the incidence of tattoo-related cutaneous complications and to define personal risk factors and course of the persons after being tattooed concerning behavior of personal environment.Patients and Methods: We interviewed 426 participants with already existing tattoos and 20 participants just before getting a new tattoo by using an online questionnaire. The participators were asked about socio-epidemiologic aspects of tattoos in general and special aspects of their own tattoo(s) in particular. There were no exclusion criteria.Results: Tattoos are interesting for people seeking popular body art, esp. university graduates and financially-secure individuals. 446 persons participated in this study. Most of the persons were female with a mean age of 35. Local pruritus around the tattooed area was the most common cutaneous side effect among the participants. 93.5% of the participants did not want a tattoo removal. Intriguingly, most of the participants experienced no career problems related to the tattoo(s).Limitations: The study population is not representative as we included only persons being tattooed prior to or getting newly tattooed. Furthermore, there is a potential selection bias as the participation in this study was voluntary. Only persons that felt involved by the flyer did answer the questionnaire.Conclusion: The present data shows that common tattooed persons are not low educated criminals with any drug or alcohol abuse or with risky life style. Nowadays being tattooed encompasses a kind of body art and displays a certain kind of lifestyle habit.
authors.affiliation: Saarland University Hospital, Department of Dermatology, Homburg/Saar , Germany.
authors.forename: Cornelia Sigrid Lissi
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.affiliation: Städtisches Klinikum Karlsruhe, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology , Germany.
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Oertel
authors.affiliation: Dermatology, Sulzbach/Saar , Germany.
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Körner
authors.affiliation: Saarland University Hospital, Department of Dermatology, Homburg/Saar , Germany.
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pföhler
authors.affiliation: Saarland University Hospital, Department of Dermatology, Homburg/Saar , Germany.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Vogt
keywords: body art; cutaneous side effects; permanent tattoo; social affiliation; tattooing; tattoos