Tattoo via Shutterstock
Most people know that tattoos pose a number of health risks, including viral and bacterial infections. So when citations kept popping up around the Internet, referring to a study claiming that tattoos can strengthen the immune system in fighting diseases, we had to take a closer look. And we're glad we did – cause we needed a laugh.
The study, published online in early March in the American Journal of Human Biology, observed 29 Alabama volunteers, 20 who had multiple tattoos and nine who were getting tatted for the first time.
Both before and after the subjects received tattoos, the study's team gathered saliva samples. They then ran tests on the samples for levels of immunoglobulin A (IgA) – an antibody lining the gastrointestinal and respiratory systems. The researchers also checked for levels of cortisol – a stressor that blocks immune response (the IgA levels).
While all volunteers showed IgA decline, first-timers saw theirs decrease much more than their veteran tattoo counterparts. The study compares this to a gym workout: the more you get, the stronger and more tolerant your body gets as a result. In this case, the study suggests, more tattoos make for greater immune tolerance in future tattooing.
Really? Hmmmm.
It's amazing to see the kinds of headlines generated from findings. Some headlines only take mild liberties, but others – such as the Huffington Post’s “Sorry Mom: Getting Lots of Tattoos Could Have A Surprising Health Benefit”; or a local CBS TV station’s “Getting Multiple Tattoos Can Help Prevent Colds, Study Says”; and Marie Claire’s “Getting Lots of Tattoos Might Actually Be Good for You” – really go off the deep end.
While click baiting seems like the main reason for such far-fetched headlines, those backing the study may themselves be partly to blame. It’s hard for poorly-informed web sites to resist such misleading headlines, especially when the University of Alabama titles the study’s press release: “Want to Avoid a Cold? Try a Tattoo or Twenty, says UA Researcher”.
Reading such teasers, one could picture more naïve readers running to their nearest tattoo parlor, asking for a bicep tat to cure their stuffy nose. Cover your whole body in tats, and you’ve got yourself a bulletproof vest against the common cold, right? Wrong. And even one of the study’s authors, Dr. Christopher Lynn, makes light of such blatant falsehoods.
“It’s a dumb suggestion that people go out and get tattoos for the express purpose of improving one’s immune system,” Dr. Lynn told the website Jezebel. “I don’t think anyone would do that, but that suggestion by some news pieces is a little embarrassing. I’ll be the first to admit that this is not life or death news.”
Barring such misleading headlines, questions still surround the credibility of the study’s findings. Here are three issues that can undermine its claims.
First, the study bases its results mainly on a very small sample of women in Alabama (a state that apparently loves tattoos and holds its parlors to very high standards of hygiene).
Also, people with multiple tattoos may have stronger immune systems in the first place. After all, those whose first tattoos run smoothly seem more likely than failed first-timers to get tatted a second time.
Finally, anyone who’s ever gotten a tattoo can likely attest to the fears and worries felt during the process. Now, couldn’t such nerves affect the cortisol levels of someone getting a tattoo for the first time?
Despite these concerns, the UA research team still sees a bright future from these findings for tattoos.
“We don’t think they just have better immune responses right there, for those few minutes,” Dr. Lynn said. “So I think it does translate to outside the tattoo studio. … And if all it does is shift public sentiment away from the stigma of associating tattoos with teen pregnancy and drug use, that’s OK too.”