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. 2021 Jul 15;48(4):353–360. doi: 10.5999/aps.2020.02117

Table 3.

Prevalence of symptoms before and after explantation

Symptoms Overall BII cohort Explantation cohort
Explanters with symptoms Explanters with symptom improvement P-value
Fatigue 155 (92) 66 (94) 50 (76) < 0.001
Headache 103 (61) 44 (63) 35 (80) < 0.001
Anxiety 117 (70) 51 (73) 39 (76) < 0.001
Depression 107 (64) 48 (69) 36 (75) < 0.001
Vertigo 78 (46) 34 (49) 28 (82) < 0.001
Brain fog 159 (95) 66 (94) 48 (73) < 0.001
Poor sleep 114 (68) 46 (66) 37 (80) < 0.001
Changes in vision 115 (68) 51 (73) 28 (55) < 0.001
Changes in hearing 69 (41) 29 (41) 14 (48) < 0.001
Joint pain 135 (80) 58 (83) 45 (78) < 0.001
Muscle pain 111 (66) 47 (67) 31 (66) < 0.001
Numbness 112 (67) 51 (73) 38 (75) < 0.001
Cold/tingling limbs 75 (45) 37 (53) 24 (65) < 0.001
Breast discomfort 113 (67) 45 (64) 41 (91) < 0.001
Rashes 74 (44) 37 (53) 26 (70) < 0.001
Hair loss 124 (74) 56 (80) 33 (59) < 0.001
Dry skin 114 (68) 52 (74) 33 (63) < 0.001
Dry eyes 95 (57) 41 (59) 24 (59) < 0.001
Easing bruising 78 (46) 28 (40) 12 (43) < 0.001
Changes in bladder habits 58 (35) 25 (36) 14 (56) < 0.001
Changes in bowel habits 73 (43) 25 (36) 12 (48) < 0.001
Food intolerance 93 (55) 38 (54) 16 (42) < 0.001
Metallic taste 39 (23) 15 (21) 12 (80) < 0.001
Weight problems 111 (66) 45 (64) 19 (42) < 0.001
Thyroid disorder 68 (40) 34 (49) 14 (41) < 0.001
Hormone imbalance 80 (48) 37 (53) 17 (46) < 0.001
Early menopause 29 (17) 14 (20) 5 (36) 0.063
Decreased libido 116 (69) 53 (76) 22 (42) < 0.001
Poor healing 64 (38) 32 (46) 14 (44) < 0.001
Fevers or night sweats 85 (51) 37 (53) 22 (59) < 0.001
Persistent infections 44 (26) 23 (33) 18 (78) < 0.001
Swollen lymph nodes 84 (50) 36 (51) 32 (89) < 0.001

Values are presented as number (%).

BII, breast implant illness.