Characteristics of women with and without breast augmentation
L. S. Cook, J. R. Daling, L. F. Voigt, M. P. deHart, K. E. Malone, J. L. Stanford, N. S. Weiss, L. A. Brinton, M. D. Gammon and D. Brogan
Division of Public Health Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Wash 98109-1024, USA.
OBJECTIVE: To compare selected characteristics of women with and without
augmentation mammaplasty to identify differences between these 2 groups of
women. DESIGN AND STUDY PARTICIPANTS: White women identified as controls in
previously conducted population-based, case-control studies formed the
study population for the present cross-sectional analysis (N=3570). MAIN
OUTCOME MEASURE: Interview information on selected characteristics was
compared between women who had received augmentation mammaplasty (n=80) and
other women (n=3490) using the prevalence odds ratio (pOR) as the measure
of association. RESULTS: Women with breast implants were more likely to
drink a greater average number of alcoholic drinks per week (for > or =7
drinks vs 0 drinks: pOR=2.9, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.5-5.5), be
younger at first pregnancy (for age <20 years vs age 20-29 years:
pOR=1.6, 95% CI=1.0-2.7), be younger at first birth (for age <20 years
vs age 20-29 years: pOR=1.9, 95% C1=1.1-3.3), have a history of terminated
pregnancies (for > or =1 termination vs 0 terminations: pOR=2.0, 95%
CI=1.2-3.4), have ever used oral contraceptives (pOR=2.2, 95% CI=1.0-4.7),
have ever used hair dyes (pOR=4.5, 95% CI=1.3-15.4), and have had a greater
lifetime number of sexual partners (for > or =14 partners vs < or =4
partners: pOR=8.9, 95% CI=3.1-25.5) than other women. A history of smoking,
lactation, high blood pressure, or thyroid disorders, as well as the number
of pregnancies, full-term births, or miscarriages, differed little between
women with and without implants. Women with breast augmentation were much
less likely to be heavy than other women (for > or =74 kg vs <56 kg:
pOR=0.1, 95% CI=0.03-0.3). CONCLUSION: The differences we found between
women with and without breast implants suggest that consideration and
evaluation of confounding factors in future studies will help to clarify
some of the long-term health consequences of having breast implants.
