Women with Cosmetic Implants Have More Suicides
Body Dysmorphic Disorder Could Well Play a Major Part
Mar 6, 2009
Mrs Sheyla Hershey, 28, a Brazilian-born singer, actress and model living in Houston, Texas has a bust size of 38kkk after a series of breast implants over many years. She made the headlines in the US earlier this year when she commented that she was contemplating to have further breast augmentation surgery to give her the biggest breasts in the world. With 11 breast enhancements, Mrs Hershey says each of her breasts contains 6,000cc of silicone. She eventually wants 10,000cc per breast.She has already scheduled her next procedure for November, in Brazil. She's also had another 21 procedures done, including liposuction, butt implants, and removing two ribs for a smaller waist. Readers of this news clip might find it bizarre and somewhat amusing. However, doctors and researchers are keen to find out why some women will go through all these surgical procedures for bigger breasts. Besides they are on to another more serious and heavy topic, that of increased incidence of suicide and death in women with cosmetic implants.
Women with Cosmetic Implants and Suicide Rate
Women with cosmetic implants are reported to have an increased suicide rate and mortality (1-5) compared with the general population. The causes for this association have not been ascertained, but appear to be related to lower self-esteem, increased incidence of depression and other mental illnesses. More recently, it has been postulated that body dysmorphic disorder could well play a major part.
Body dysmorphic disorder
Body dysmorphic disorder is a relatively uncommon and often severe mental disorder that
consists of a preoccupation with an imagined or trivial defect in appearance (6). One-fifth to two-fifths of individuals with body dysmorphic disorder undertake cosmetic surgery to address their perceived defect in appearance. However, the pre-occupation with this perceived defect persists and some more plastic surgery is undertaken. Breast augmentation is another frequent surgical procedure received for this perceived concerns.
Body dysmorphic disorder can be extremely distressing. A high proportion of individuals with body dysmorphic disorder have suicidal ideation. Many attempt suicide and a few even die from it. It is important that future studies consider body dysmorphic disorder
as a risk factor for suicide in women who receive breast implants or other cosmetic procedures. Simple it might sound, but this can be fairly tricky to achieve as many patients with body dysmorphic disorder do not disclose their symptoms, and the condition often goes undiagnosed (6).
REFERENCES
1. Villeneuve PJ, Holowaty EJ, Brisson J, et al. Mortality among Canadian women with cosmetic breast implants. Am J Epidemiol 2006;164:334–41.
2. Brinton LA, Lubin JH, Burich MC, et al. Mortality among augmentation mammoplasty patients. Epidemiology 2001; 12:321–6.
3. Jacobson PH, Holmich LR, McLaughlin JK, et al. Mortality and suicide among Danish women with cosmetic breast implants. Arch Intern Med 2004;164:2450–5.
4. Koot VC, Peeters PH, Granath F, et al. Total and cause specific mortality among Swedish women with cosmetic breast implants: prospective study. BMJ 2003;326:527–8.
5. Pukkala E, Kulmala I, Hovi SL, et al. Causes of death among Finnish women with cosmetic breast implants, 1971–2001. Ann Plast Surg 2003;51:339–42.
6. Phillips KA. The presentation of body dysmorphic disorder in medical settings. PrimPsychiatry 2006;13:51–9.
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