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Mon, 9 Oct 2006 20:53:04 EDT

Suicides among the 480 breast-implant recipients ... comparable general population without implants, they would ... Canada considers putting silicone implants back on

MONTREAL -- Women with breast implants and those who've had plastic surgeries have lower rates of cancer than the general population, but higher rates of suicide, a new Canadian study suggests.

Although the researchers offered no definitive explanation for the higher suicide rates, they suggest greater attention be paid to the psychiatric state of cosmetic surgery patients.

"Serious consideration should be given to providing consultation for patients who are considered by the plastic surgeon to be at high risk of psychiatric disorder or suicide," says an article on the study, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

The study, funded by Health Canada and carried out by the Public Health Agency of Canada, the University of Toronto, Cancer Care Ontario and the University of Laval, looked at vital statistics and death certificates of 24,558 women in Ontario and Quebec who underwent breast implant surgery from 1974-1989.

Researchers also tracked nearly 16,000 women who underwent other plastic surgeries in the same period and compared both with the general female population.

Women who underwent breast implantation had lower rates of mortality than the general population.

They also had lower rates of cancer, with 229 cancer deaths among the nearly 25,000 women. About 303 would be expected in the general population.

Researchers identified 58 suicides among the 480 breast-implant recipients who died. In a comparable general population without implants, they would have expected 33 suicide deaths.

The study comes as Health Canada considers putting silicone implants back on the market for general use. That concerns Dr. Donna Stewart, professor of psychiatry at the University of Toronto.

"There have been studies showing that many of these women have low self-esteem," Stewart said. "They tend to be anxious ... depressed. There should be screening of these women very carefully before they're given implants.