Tattooing among Iranian prisoners: results of the two national biobehavioral surveillance surveys in 2015–2016

Tattooing is among identified risk factor for blood-borne diseases. This study aims to determine the prevalence of tattooing during lifetime and in prisons and its related factors among Iranian prisoners. This is a cross-sectional study. The required data was obtained from hepatitis B and C surveillance surveys in prisons in 2015–2016 that was collected through face-to-face interview. 12,800 prisoners were selected by multi-stage random sampling from 55 prisons of 19 provinces in Iran. Weighted prevalence and associated factors (using Chi-Square test and multivariate logistic regression) were determined by Stata/SE 14.0 survey package. Out of 12,800 prisioners, 11,988 participated in the study (93.6% participation rate). The prevalence of tattooing in lifetime and in prisons was 44.7% and 31.1% respectively. The prevalence of tattooing during lifetime was significantly associated with age