English not shy of body piercings, study finds

London: One in 10 English adults has a body piercing but many do not see an expert when adorning sensitive areas such as their tongues and genitals, running the risk of infection and bleeding, a study showed last week.

One in 100 required admission to hospital, the study found.

Women are three times more likely than men to have a piercing, with the navel being the most popular site, researchers from Britain's Health Protection Agency and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine found.

"Body piercing is common in adults in England, particularly in young women," they wrote in the British Medical Journal. "Problems are common and the assistance of health services is often required."

A third of those who had a piercing had had their navels done, followed by 19 per cent having a nose piercing. Two per cent had a genital piercing, with men twice as likely to get them.

Most people went to a specialist shop for their piercing but many visited non-experts, who performed 9 per cent of tongue piercings, the researchers said.

Common problems such as swelling, infection and bleeding were linked mostly with tongue and genital piercings, the researchers said. Serious complications are rare but the growing popularity of piercings and the fact problems can occur long after a piercing is performed could pose a considerable burden on the state health system, the researchers said.

The random survey of more than 10,000 people over age 16 throughout England showed that pierced people had a mean 1.71 piercings each.