Department of Studies of Institutions and Territorial Systems, University Parthenope, Naples, Italy.
BMC Public Health. 2011 Aug 5;11:625. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-11-625.
Body art practices have emerged as common activities among youth, yet few studies have investigated awareness in different age groups of possible health complications associated with piercing and tattooing.
We investigated perceptions of and knowledge about health risks. To highlight differences among age groups, we gathered data from students at high schools and universities in the province of Naples.
Of 9,322 adolescents, 31.3% were pierced and 11.3% were tattooed. Of 3,610 undergraduates, 33% were pierced and 24.5% were tattooed (p < 0.05). A higher number of females were pierced in both samples, but there were no gender differences among tattooed students. Among high school students, 79.4% knew about infectious risks and 46% about non-infectious risks; the respective numbers among university students were 87.2% and 59.1%. Only 3.5% of students in high school and 15% of university undergraduates acknowledged the risk of viral disease transmission; 2% and 3% knew about allergic risks. Among adolescents and young adults, 6.9% and 15.3%, respectively, provided signed informed consent; the former were less knowledgeable about health risks (24.7% vs. 57.1%) (p < 0.05). Seventy-three percent of the high school students and 33.5% of the university students had body art done at unauthorized facilities. Approximately 7% of both samples reported complications from their purchased body art.
Results indicate a need for adequate information on health risks associated with body art among students in Naples, mainly among high school students. Therefore, adolescents should be targeted for public health education programs.
身体艺术实践在年轻人中已成为常见活动，但很少有研究调查不同年龄段的人对与穿孔和纹身相关的健康并发症的认识。
我们调查了对健康风险的认知和了解。为了突出不同年龄组之间的差异，我们从那不勒斯省的高中生和大学生中收集了数据。
在 9322 名青少年中，31.3%的人穿孔，11.3%的人纹身。在 3610 名大学生中，33%的人穿孔，24.5%的人纹身（p<0.05）。两个样本中女性穿孔的人数都较多，但纹身的学生中没有性别差异。在高中生中，79.4%的人了解感染风险，46%的人了解非感染风险；大学生的相应数字分别为 87.2%和 59.1%。只有 3.5%的高中生和 15%的大学生承认有病毒疾病传播的风险；2%和 3%的人知道过敏风险。在青少年和年轻人中，分别有 6.9%和 15.3%的人提供了签字的知情同意书；前者对健康风险的了解较少（24.7%对 57.1%）（p<0.05）。73%的高中生和 33.5%的大学生在未经授权的场所进行了身体艺术。大约 7%的样本报告了他们购买的身体艺术带来的并发症。
结果表明，那不勒斯的学生，主要是高中生，需要获得足够的关于身体艺术相关健康风险的信息。因此，应该针对青少年开展公共卫生教育计划。
