Breast Implant Studies

Updated: 6:13 p.m. CT Aug 8, 2007
WASHINGTON - Women who get cosmetic breast implants are nearly three times as likely to commit suicide as other women, U.S. researchers reported on Wednesday.

The study, published in the Annals of Plastic Surgery, reinforces several others that have shown women who have breast enlargements have higher suicide risks.

Loren Lipworth of the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Tennessee and colleagues followed up on 3,527 Swedish women who had cosmetic breast implant surgery between 1965 and 1993. They looked at death certificates to analyze causes of death among women with breast implants.

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Only 24 of the women had committed suicide after an average of 19 years, but this worked out to triple the risk compared to the average population, they reported. Doctors who perform cosmetic breast surgery may want to monitor patients closely or screen them for suicide risk, Lipworth said.

“The increased risk of suicide was not apparent until 10 years after implantation,” the researchers wrote.

Lipworth said she believes that some women who get implants may have psychiatric problems to start with, perhaps linked with lower self-esteem or body image disorders.

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“I think we don’t even know how big of a problem it is because we cannot even pinpoint what proportion of women have psychiatric disorders,” Lipworth said in a telephone interview.

“There could be a whole lot of different disorders.”

Women with breast implants also had a tripled risk of death from alcohol and drug use.

“Thus, at least 38 deaths (22 percent of all deaths) in this implant cohort were associated with suicide, psychological disorders and/or drug and alcohol abuse/dependence,” the researchers wrote.

No rise in cancer death risk
They found no increase in the risk of death from cancer, including breast cancer. Women with implants were more likely to die from lung cancer and respiratory diseases, such as emphysema, but this is probably because they were more likely to smoke, the researchers said.(so, why am i not smoking?) Last year, Canadian scientists also found a higher risk of suicide among women who got breast implants, although they had lower rates of other diseases, including cancer.

In November, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration okayed the sale of silicone breast implants for the first time in 14 years, after years of hearings on their safety.

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The FDA said independent research over the past decade has found no convincing evidence that breast implants were associated with connective tissue diseases or cancer.

While silicone implants were banned, women could only use saline-filled breast implants. Plastic surgeons say women prefer the silicone ones, and Lipworth said most of the women in her study had silicone implants.

In 2006, 383,886 U.S. women had breast augmentation, according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. It was the second-most common surgical cosmetic procedure, after liposuction.

That's really interesting. I think a lot of people who do that have self esteem issues that are very deep, and getting surgery may make them look better, but it doesn't deal with the root problems.

no it doesn't and a lot of women pay for it down the road.

what irritates me about the study is that i firmly believe that there are women who want to, or do, committ suicide due to the horrible side effects that come from the implants. they did mention two diseases and then glossed over that.

there have been studies that show that it is suspected that lupus and immune problems come from the implants. i know my immune system is shot and i feel, in my heart of hearts, that the implants caused it. i've had two rupture inside me. they didnt' even mention that. and it is a common occurence with implants.

Oh wow, yeah it seems like implants could cause other problems like that, too.. it's unnatural stuff going in your body.

I heard about that study a few days ago. Like the article says, I think it has a lot to do with self esteem issues to begin with.

And there are a lot of parents who get their kids plastic surgery--including breast implants--while their kids are still growing! I'm not saying all plastic surgery is wrong--I want some!!! And I can understand a person with a large nose or ears that stick out wanting to do something about it. But when parents buy their teen daughters breast implants for graduation--a more and more common gift these days--what message does that send to the girl about how her own parents feel about her looks?

Girls aren't expected to learn to deal with their body and self-esteem issues these days. We just give them plastic surgery for a quick fix. Women, boys and men, too, for that matter. And I don't mean it's an easy fix, but you know what I'm saying.

I saw a girl on Rachel Ray just a few days ago (until the President so rudely interrupted! ), saying how it's improved her confidence (they ALL say that!!!) and self-esteem, blah, blah, blah. She also got her lips done. I don't know what she looked like before the surgery, but she couldn't have been that bad! This girl was already gorgeous.

So many girls pick their bodies apart, criticizing every little thing...if even a tiny amount of skin hangs loose, she thinks she's ugly. One young girl on a plastic surgery show who clearly had self-esteem issues got all marked up by the plastic surgeon and declared, "See? Even he thinks I need work!" (not an exact quote) Um...yeah...because that's how he makes money!

Gosh, I can go on and on about breast implants and plastic surgery, but to keep it on topic, I'll just state a couple more things specific to breast implants.

I want them. And I don't. I was fat since I was young, as well as large-breasted, and I sag badly. I can get a breast lift without the implants, but then you don't have the roundedness. That said, I'm very hesitant for a lot of the reasons you all mentioned, as well as others I've read about.

Most women--MOST!!!--will have to have their breasts redone within ten years. If you get a size C or above, I've heard that, when you wake up from surgery, it feels like you have bricks sitting on your chest! There can be loss of nipple sensation, if you have the implant placed through the method where they cut around the nipple.

It's society that does that to us. Women who are flat-chested or small-breasted are teased mercilessly sometimes, and then, when they do something about it (not that they should), they get ridiculed for having "fakes"! I mean, how the hell are we supposed to build girls' and womens' self esteem if society is constantly breaking it down?

And look at these young girls getting breast implants--most of them are HOT (in society's terms) to begin with!!!!

As for "unnatural" stuff going in one's body...one could say that about most medications, metal or plastic implants to help people walk or fix other things wrong with them, pacemakers, etc. Of course, those aren't for vanity reasons.

Back to the girl on Rachel Ray. For whatever we might think is wrong with her attitude, one thing she said is sadly true: Our society is so focused on appearance, and judges us on appearance, that it really is important how you look.

you may know this.....i had breast cancer at age 31. the FDA said the implants were safe. 1974.....i was young and my decision was to have reconstruction. bad, bad decision. 11 surgeries later, my life is hell. 24/7 pain......implants are not safe........

I'm sorry about what you're going through. I myself have, and is, considering breast augmentation. I do, however, suffer with BDD. So, this is a tough situation for me.