OBJECTIVES: Body piercing (BP) is a common form of body modification as popular as tattooing. In the US, it was estimated(2012) that 49% of adults had an ear piercing, 7% a piercing on their torso, and 4% a facial piercing other than an ear piercing. We are not currently aware of any equivalent study in France based on robust methodology.

METHODS: A national, cross-sectional study in France was conducted on the general population based on a representative sample of 5,000 French individuals older than 15 years chosen by the method of quotas.

RESULTS: Nearly 12% of the French participants reported at least one or BP (8.4% of men (M) and 19.4% of women (W)). Of these, 49.8% had only one BP. The most common body parts for piercings were the external ear(42%), the navel(24.3%), the tongue(15%), the nose(11%). Among intimate piercings, 5.8% of M had a piercing on the genitalias, with 4.4% reporting a testicle piercing, and 2% of women declared that they had piercing on the clitoris. Notably, 45.1% of French persons with a single BP had an ear piercing.The most commonly reported motivations included embellishment of the body(53.1%) and individuality(31.1%). Erotic motivations and sexuality were more commonly cited by M(4.7%) than by W(2.3%), p<0.05, and the same was true for for body reappropriation (M6.5%vsW3.7%,p<0.05). 40.8% of persons with BP had skin problems with at least one of their BP. These problems resolved in 30.4% of cases, were recurrent for 8.2% of the respondents, and chronic and persistent for 2.2% of them. The complications included: infection(44%), scarring(37.9%), irritation(29.7%), and itching(15%).

CONCLUSIONS: To the best of our knowledge, this is the largest epidemiological study on BP in France to date. The practice of BP appears stable, unlike tattooing that increases with time.This study also confirms that infectious complications are common after a piercing.