There is widespread concern about possible long-term health effects among women who have received breast implants for cosmetic purposes.

   The authors examined cause-specific mortality in a cohort of 24,558 women with breast implants and 15,893 women who underwent other plastic surgery procedures in Ontario and Quebec, Canada, between 1974 and 1989.
   
   The authors compared the mortality of women who received implants with that of the general population by using standardized mortality ratios. Overall mortality was lower among women who received breast implants relative to the general population (standardized mortality ratio=0.74, 95% confidence interval: 0.68, 0.81).
   
   No differences in mortality were found between the implant and other surgeries group for any of the 20 causes of death examined. Findings suggest that breast implants do not directly increase mortality in women.
   
   American Journal of Epidemiology. 164(4):334-341, August 15, 2006.