Fw: Letter to the editor of the Toronto Star on implants and suicide

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----- Original Message ----- From: Zuckerman

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Sent: Tuesday, March 18, 2003 9:36 PM

Subject: Letter to the editor of the Toronto Star on implants and suicide

There have been a flurry of articles in newspapers here and abroad about a new Swedish study linking breast implants to suicide. The authors, some of whom have a history of positive articles about breast implants, claimed that the reason was that women who get implants are more psychologically fragile. My letter to the editor appeared in Friday's The Toronto Star.

The original article follows the letter.

Zuckerman

Toronto Star

March 14, 2003

More evidence for troubling implant health risks

Implants linked to suicide riskHealth, March 7.

The above-referenced article, based on a Swedish study, did not mention even more troubling findings in a U.S. study by the National Cancer Institute.

The U.S. study found an increase in suicides and some cancers in women with breast implants compared with other plastic surgery patients.

If women who undergo plastic surgery have more psychological problems than the general population, that would not explain the difference between suicide rates of breast augmentation patients compared with other women who underwent liposuction, nose surgery and other plastic surgery at a similar age.

The U.S. results suggest that the increased vulnerability of plastic surgery patients is not the only explanation for the increased risk of suicide. Compared with most other plastic surgery patients, implant patients suffer from complications that tend to increase over time. Implant manufacturers report that many implant patients need additional surgery within the first three years and that ruptures, pain, and other complications continue to increase over time.

Our centre receives heartbreaking letters every week from women whose implants have broken. They are worried about the silicone leaking in their body. It is certainly possible that such problems may cause an increased risk of suicide.

The U.S. study also found that augmentation patients were three times as likely to die from lung cancer and other respiratory diseases compared with other plastic surgery patients, even though augmentation patients were no more likely to smoke than other plastic surgery patients. It appears that the combination of smoking and implants may increase the risk of lung disease more than smoking alone.

Zuckerman, President

National Center for Policy Research for Women & Families

Washington, D.C.

Toronto Star

March 7, 2003

“Implants linked to suicide risk”

By Reuters

Women who opt for breast implants to enhance their natural assets are more likely to commit suicide, Dutch and Swedish scientists said yesterday. Breast enlargement is one of the most popular types of cosmetic surgery, but researchers at the University Medical Centre in Utrecht believe it could be linked to problems such as lack of self-esteem or poor body image.

"Our findings suggest there might be a psychological problem in some women," Koot, an epidemiologist at the centre, said in an interview.

In a study of 3,521 women in Sweden who had breast augmentation surgery for cosmetic reasons between 1965 and 1993, Koot and her colleagues found a higher than expected suicide rate after an average 11-year follow-up.

Women who had implants following surgery for breast cancer were not included in the study.

Fifteen women in the research group committed suicide, three times more than expected in the general population. The researchers also found an excess number of lung cancer deaths, mostly likely due to smoking.

"It is a high rate of suicide compared to the general population," she said.

The scientists suggested that cosmetic surgeons should evaluate women who want breast enlargement for any signs of psychological problems.

"If women have a psychological problem and they are given breast implants they will still have that problem," said Koot, who reported the finding in the British Medical Journal.

After liposuction, breast augmentation is the most popular cosmetic surgical procedure for women in Britain and the United States. Nearly 250,000 women in the U.S. had their breasts enlarged in 2002, a substantial increase since 1997. Eyelid surgery, breast reduction and nose reshaping were also popular procedures.