Characteristics of women with and without breast augmentation

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 greater than or equal to 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% CI=1.1-3.3), have a history of terminated pregnancies (for greater than or equal to 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 greater than or equal to 14 partners vs less than or equal to 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 greater than or equal to 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.