Neurological disease among women with silicone breast implants in Denmark

Objectives– To investigate the risk of neurological disease among women with cosmetic breast implants. Material and methods– We identified 1653 women who had undergone breast implant surgery at private clinics in Denmark and a comparison cohort of 1736 women who underwent other types of cosmetic surgery at the same clinics. Ratios of observed-to-expected numbers of hospitalizations for neurological disease in the private implant and comparison cohorts were calculated, separately and combined with data from updated public hospital cohorts. Results– The occurrence of neurological disease in the private clinic implant cohort was comparable to that in the general population. A similar risk pattern was observed in the private clinic comparison cohort. When data for these private clinic cohorts were combined with updated data for public hospital cohorts, excess risks for neurological disorders were seen in both implant and comparison cohorts, reaching statistical significance only in the comparison cohort. Conclusion– Our findings indicate no causal association between silicone breast implants and neurological disease.