Immunoglobulin A holds great allure for some researchers. Tattooing holds great allure for other researchers. For three researchers, the combination of immunoglobulin A and tattooing is worth writing a paper about. That paper is:
“Tattooing to ‘Toughen Up’: Tattoo Experience and Secretory Immunoglobulin A,” Christopher D. Lynn [pictured here, sitting in a chair], Johnna T. Dominguez, and Jason A. Decaro, American Journal of Human Biology, vol. 28, no. 5, 2016, pp. 603–609.
The authors, at the University of Alabama, explain:
[We] collected data from three tattoo studios in Leeds and Tuscaloosa, Alabama….
Participants were 24 women and 5 men (aged 18–47). We measured immune function using secretory immunoglobulin A (SIgA) and cortisol (sCORT) in saliva collected before and after tattoo sessions. We measured tattoo experience as a sum of number of tattoos, lifetime hours tattooed, years since first tattoo, percent of body covered, and number of tattoo sessions…. We used hierarchical multiple regression to test for a main effect of tattoo experience on post-tattoo SIgA, controlling for pretest SIgA, tattoo session duration, body mass, and the interaction between tattoo experience and test session duration….
Our data suggest that the body habituates over time to the tattooing stressor. It is possible that individuals with healthy immune systems heal faster, making them more likely to get multiple tattoos.
Here’s further detail:
