Breast Implant Study Finds No Link to Connective Tissue Disease

A Swedish study has found that silicone gel breast implants don’t appear to increase the risk of connective tissue diseases.

Dr. Olof Nyren, an associate professor at Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, and his colleagues examined the hospital records of all the women in the Swedish patient registry who had implants between 1964 and 1993, a total of 7,442. For comparison, they used the records of 3,353 women who had breast reduction surgery.

“No significant increase in the risk of connective tissue disease was apparent when rates in the implant group were compared with the expected rates in the general population,” the experts said. Those who underwent breast reduction surgery were hospitalized at a higher rate than those with the implants, researchers said.

The study was funded by the International Epidemiology Institute, which received financial support from Dow Corning Corp. It appears in tomorrow’s British Medical Journal.

Thousands of women in the U.S. and abroad have sued implant manufacturers, including Dow Corning and Bristol Myers-Squibb Co., seeking billions of dollars in damages. While some have won lawsuits charging the implants caused connective tissue diseases, in which the immune system turns against the body, several large scientific studies have found no link.

Between 1 million and 2.5 million women in North America have gotten silicone gel breast implants since they were introduced in 1962. Since then, they have been linked to hardening of the breast, rupture and enlargement of the lymph nodes.