A METAANALYSIS OF BREAST IMPLANTS AND CONNECTIVE-TISSUE DISEASE

Case reports have raised questions about an increased risk of connecti ve tissue diseases (CTDs) among women with breast implants, from the r eviews of more than 2,600 manuscripts, abstracts, and dissertations, t his meta-analysis included 13 epidemiology studies that provided a rel ative risk (RR) estimate for the possible association between breast i mplants and CTDs. The meta-analysis summary RR was 0.76 for CTD in gen eral (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.55, 1.04; homogeneity p-value = 0.073) and was 0.98 for scleroderma (95% CI: 0.57, 1.64; homogeneity p = 0.006). Irrespective of which studies were aggregated in this meta- analysis, there was no significant increased risk for scleroderma, rhe umatoid arthritis, or CTD in general. Conclusions from this study are consistent with the most recent review by the British Medical Devices Agency that found no scientific evidence to date of an increased risk of CTD associated with silicone gel breast implants.