JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Tattoos are becoming increasingly common in the United States. However, little information is available to help clinicians anticipate where, when, and on what patients will seek guidance regarding tattoo care, complications, and removal.

Objective:

The aim of this study was to model web searches concerning general interest in tattoo application and removal, and the geolocation of tattooing services.

Methods:

Relative search volumes (RSVs) were elicited from Google Trends, filtered to web searches in the United States made between January 15, 2008 and October 15, 2022. Longitudinal data was analyzed in GraphPad Prism and geospatial data was visualized with Datawrapper for general interest searches (“tattoo” and “tattoo removal”), aggregated geolocating searches (e.g., “tattoo shops near me”), and symptomatic searches relating to adverse effects (e.g., “itchy tattoo). Results were compared to previous, global literature and national surveys of tattoo prevalence.

Results:

In the United States, the topics of “tattoo” and “tattoo removal” have experienced stable RSVs over the past 14 years, with both peaking in the summer and troughing in the winter. RSVs for search terms that geolocate tattooing services have experienced a general increase in use since 2008. A compilation of results for all collated geolocating search terms localizes these searches mainly to the American South with lesser involvement in the eastern Midwest and inland West. Increases in search interest in the Southeast at the expense of that in more populous, coastal states and western, Great Plains Midwest states reflects the ongoing harmonization of tattoo prevalence across regions depicted by national surveys. Searches for symptoms related to adverse reactions to tattooing experienced an increase over the time period of interest in the same distribution as previous, global findings.

Conclusions:

: Clinicians should be aware of an increase in search interest regarding tattoos and their removal, especially during the summer months in the Southeast and Midwest. This interest is being realized with an increase in tattoo prevalence as well as search interest for adverse reactions in a country lagging behind in tattoo ink regulation. Clinical Trial: Not applicable.