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 > 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.