Cosmetic Breast Implants and the Risk of Suicide: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Having cosmetic breast implants increases a woman's chance of suicide, which is now a global challenge. This systematic review evaluated the possible risk of suicide among women who undergo cosmetic breast implants.

This meta-analysis was done based on Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). In the current systematic review and meta-analysis, we systematically searched for all articles written in both English or Persian that estimated the prevalence of suicidal ideation in women who had cosmetic breast implants. We systematically searched different databases, including MEDLINE (PubMed), Web of Science, Embase, Cochrane, Library ProQuest, Scopus, and Google Scholar, from inception to March 2021. There was also a search for references. Suicidal ideation, a suicide plan, or suicide attempts were the outcomes. In order to determine the total pooled prevalence of suicidal ideation, we utilized a random-effects model. To examine the risks of bias in each study, we applied the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal method.

We identified 218 citations in our initial search. After omitting duplicated citations and excluding irrelevant studies according to the title and abstract selection, 42 studies were chosen for the full text analysis. Finally, 11 research, examining a total of 324,332 women were incorporated into the systematic review and critical appraisal assessment. Eight of these studies were found to be eligible for meta-analysis. The frequency of suicide in women with cosmetic breast implant was 0.2% (95% CI: 0.1% to 0.4%; P < 0.001) (Q-value: 168.143, I2:95.83). Most of the included studies had moderate quality.

There might be a correlation between cosmetic breast implants and suicide risk, which could be stronger in the presence of a history of mental illnesses. The evidence about the possible effects of breast implants on the risk of suicide is still inconclusive, and there is a need for future well-designed studies on this topic.