Suicidal Breasts

[The Spanish Lover]

http://msnbc.com/news/974722.asp?0cv=CB10

What is the causation?

My $0.02:

It's stupid to blame THE IMPLANTS. It's not a cause and effect thing; it's simply a correlation.

It stands to reason. If you are unhappy enough about your body that you would undergo the risk of surgery to mutilate it (and sometimes get breasts so fake-looking that you actually look worse afterwards), it's stands to reason you are an unhappy person overall. Hence more suicides. IANAP, but it seems ridiculously simple to me.

[Gandalf]

One possibility: those getting cosmetic breast implants may be less satisfied with themselves before the operation than average. If the operation does not achieve the lifestyle result changes they had hoped, some may choose to end it all.

[Lee Mellon]

It's stupid to blame THE IMPLANTS. It's not a cause and effect thing; it's simply a correlation.

And you know this for a fact? You THINK it's not the implants. You THINK it's simply a correlation. Your opposite stance is as foolishly overstated as the original case. There is an apparent correlation. There may be cause and effect but that seems unlikely.


Edited to add: and the thread should have been titled "breasts to die for."

[Gandalf]

Lee, you quoted Yoda grossly out of context.

Originally Posted by Yoda ACTUALLY (bold and color added)

My $0.02:

It's stupid to blame THE IMPLANTS. It's not a cause and effect thing; it's simply a correlation.

He made it very clear that he was expressing his opinion, so there was no cause to write things like "You THINK".

[11pecans]

leaking saline causes depression in field mice

[Maine-iac]

Since the article states that the increase in suicides ONLY occurs in women who have cosmetic implants, not those who have them for reconstructive purposes, I would tend to believe that there is no cause and effect, and suspect that the correlation is due to the psychological make-up of a subset of the women who have cosmetic breast augmentation.

Highly unlikely that a physical effect of the silicone implant would NOT affect women who had the same implants after a mastectomy.

[Retired Bookworm]

Ever notice the warnings on depression medication warn not to take it if you have suicidal tendencies? Could the pharmacy companies have picked up on some adverse selection and legal risk? I agree with everyone who thinks there is no cause/effect here.

[Grace]

I agree that a conclusion of causation would be a bit hasty.

I just reread Maine-iac's post and then reread the article. I missed this the first time:

The studies that found high suicide rates did not include women who had implants after mastectomies.

So I'll make my irrelevant earlier remarks tiny.
I'd like to know if they teased out the women who had implants due to cancer. I was once told that women who have had breast cancer have a higher incidence of suicide, which in itself could be purely a correlation, despite the mortality scare and body-image issues:
I believe the incidence of breast cancer is higher than average among women who have not had children*, as is the suicide rate, so this correlation could be driven by mother/non-mother status. (possibly also exersiser/non-exersizer status, or other things too)
* it's also higher in women who delayed motherhood or, I believe, who didn't breastfeed, so ladies: don't let exams forestall motherhood!!!
About the Finnish women, I am also roughly of Yoda's opinion until further information is available.

[Course 4 Escapee]

Originally Posted by 12pack

leaking saline causes depression in field mice

To borrow a phrase from Bart Simpson: Making field mice depressed is like shooting fish in a barrel.