[Association between tattoos, piercings and risk behaviors in adolescents].

BACKGROUND The use of tattoos and piercings has increased, especially among adolescents in the last decades. AIM To evaluate the prevalence of these behaviors in adolescents and their association with risk behaviors such as alcohol, tobacco and illicit drug use and sexual promiscuity. MATERIAL AND METHODS An anonymous and confidential survey about tattooing and piercings was applied to randomly selected high school teenagers, attending municipal, private-subsidized and private schools, in four sectors of Santiago (north-east, south-east, north-west, south-west). RESULTS The surveys were answered by 1329 participants with a mean age of 15 years (62% women) from 9 schools in Santiago. The prevalence of tattoos was 1.7% (confidence intervals (CI) 1.1% to 2.5%). The figure for piercings was 30.6% (CI 28.2 to 33.1%). A higher prevalence of tattooing and piercings was observed in groups with a history of psychiatric disorders, criminal records, alcohol, tobacco and illicit drug consumption and initiation of sexual activity (p < 0,001). CONCLUSIONS This study confirms that tattoos and piercings are indicators of adolescent risk behaviors.