Health Update: Bigger breasts with less stress

TWO years ago panic spread among British and American women who had received silicone gel breast implants, when the US Food and Drug Administration banned them following reports that they were linked to autoimmune disorders and diseases of the connective tissue. Although the British Department of Health said that there was no cause for alarm, many women had their implants removed.

Now the calmer approach of the British authorities seems to have been vindicated. A large-scale study of 749 women, in the New England Journal of Medicine, found no evidence of a link between implants and disease. While the report is unlikely to put the debate finally to rest, it provides strong evidence that implants are safe.