Body art practices and health risks: young adults’ knowledge in two Regions of Southern Italy

Background: In the past several decades the number of individuals, particularly young adults, acquiring body art has increased very seriously in occidental society. In order to verify young adults’ practices and knowledge of the risks related to body art, an investigation was conducted among university freshmen in Bari (Apulia Region) and Naples (Campania Region), both in Southern Italy. Methods: The study was carried out during the period 2008-2010 through an anonymous questionnaire distributed to 3,368 people selected among 26 Degree Courses of the University of Bari and Naples Parthenope. The two regional samples were matched for age and sex. Results: On the whole, 84.4% declare to know the infectious risks associated with body art practices, but only 4.1% of them correctly identified the infectious diseases which can be transmitted through these procedures; while 59.2% of the sample declared that non-infectious diseases can occur after a tattoo or a piercing, but only 5.4% of them correctly identified allergies, cysts, bleeding and scars. The possible occurrence of infectious and non-infectious diseases has been acknowledged by most students in Apulia region (89.7 vs 79.1% and 64.8 vs 53.6% respectively). Of the 1,001 (32.4%) pierced and 597 (19.8%) tattooed youths 23.4% reported complications. Campania region youths reported a greater number of complications than Apulia did (30.3 vs 13.1%) and they also purchased more frequently their tattoos or piercings in unauthorized facilities (35.3% vs 15.9%). Conclusions: With regard to the knowledge of health risks associated to body art, it has been registered a higher awareness of infectious than non-infectious diseases. Information about freshmen's knowledge and practices could help in effective planning of health promotion strategies.