Long-Term Health Status of Danish Women with Silicone Breast Implants

Abstract

Long-term safety data are important in the evaluation of possible adverse health outcomes related to silicone breast implants. The authors evaluated long-term symptoms and conditions and medication use among 190 Danish women with cosmetic silicone breast implants compared with 186 women who had undergone breast reduction surgery and with 149 women from the general population. Breast implant and reduction surgeries were performed from 1973 to 1988 at one public hospital and one private plastic surgery clinic. Among women with breast implants, the average implantation time was 19 years, 60 percent (n = 114) had only one implantation, and 10 percent (n = 19) had undergone explantation before the time of study (1997 to 1998). The authors found no material differences in self-reported diseases or symptoms among study groups, except for breast pain, which was reported nearly three times as often by women with implants than by women with breast reduction (odds ratio, 2.8; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.4 to 5.3). Approximately 80 percent of women in each study group reported at least one symptom. No consistent differences were observed in the seroprevalences of antinuclear antibodies or other autoantibodies. Self-reported use of psychotropic drugs was higher among women with breast implants than among either control group. The authors conclude that long-term cosmetic breast implantation may cause capsular contracture and breast pain but does not appear to be associated with other symptoms, diseases, or autoimmune reactivity. The authors' finding of excess use of drugs for treatment of depression and anxiety among women with breast implants may warrant further investigation.

Breast Implants and Breast Cancer: A Review of Incidence, Detection, Mortality, and Survival

“…Although not entirely consistent, these studies portray a population that may, in fact, be at lower than average risk of breast cancer. Factors reported to be more common among breast implant patients who are often shown to also be associated with lower breast cancer risk include lower body mass index, 27,63-66 earlier age at first full-term pregnancy, 27,63-66 more pregnancies, 64,66 smoking, 64,65 and less education. 27,64-66 Limited evidence of other protective factors is found for later age at menarche 27 and lactation.…”

Reasonably safe? Breast implants and informed consent

“…10 In fact, numerous studies indicate that women who have breast augmentation are two to six times more likely to kill themselves than other women with a similar demographic background, or even other plastic surgery patients. [12][13][14][15] This, and the fact that women with implants for a longer period of time are more likely to take antidepressants, 16 suggests that implant problems may contribute to serious psychological problems. However, studies conducted by researchers from the International Epidemiology Institute, a for-profit research centre whose implant studies were funded by Dow Corning, conclude that the women probably had mental problems before their augmentation surgery.…”

“…Lastly, some studies do not mention statistically significant findings in their abstracts or conclusions (e.g. a study by Breiting et al which found significant increases in chronic breast pain 16 ) and yet conclude that breast implants are not harmful.…”

Silicone Breast Implants and Connective Tissue Disease

“…15 Since publication of the review by Tugwell et al, 13 several additional epidemiologic studies have investigated the possibility of associations between cosmetic breast implants and any individual CTD or all CTDs combined 16 -20 or atypical connective tissue or rheumatic disease. [17][18][19][21][22][23] The results of these studies are summarized below.…”