M.E. Givant1, M. Akhter2, X. Miao1, C. Bernal3, Y. Aref1, M. Smith4, J. Bryan2, D. Kahn2, R. Nazerali2 1California University of Science and Medicine, School Of Medicine, Colton, CA, USA 2Stanford University, Division Of Plastic And Reconstructive Surgery, Palo Alto, CA, USA 3California Northstate University, College Of Medicine, Elk Grove, CA, USA 4University Of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
Introduction:
A common incentive for patients undergoing cosmetic intervention is to improve their psychosocial wellbeing and quality of life. While this entails an investment of time, money, and effort, it is unclear whether this population invests similarly in their daily health practices. We aim to evaluate lifestyle choices among individuals who recently underwent cosmetic intervention compared to individuals without such history.
Methods:
A survey was distributed via Amazon MTurk that inquired about participants’ physical activity, sleep, diet, alcohol and tobacco use, and risky health behaviors. Patients with a history of cosmetic intervention within the past three years were included in the cosmetic cohort, while those with no such history comprised the control cohort. Subgroup comparisons were drawn among those who underwent cosmetic surgery (CS), non-surgical cosmetic procedure (CP), or both (CSP). Composite scores were generated for each behavior, with higher scores corresponding to greater or more frequent endorsement of that health behavior. Differences between groups were assessed using Mann-Whitney U tests, Chi-Square tests, and one-way ANOVA.
Results:
Among 428 individuals included, most were female (51.6%), 25-34 years old (46%), Caucasian (76.3%), and had a household income of $50,000-$100,000 (32.7%). Compared to the control group, the cosmetic group more frequently held full-time employment (p<0.01). While the cosmetic group had significantly higher physical activity scores (p<0.01) than the control, they also had higher alcohol consumption scores (p<0.01), rates of recreational substance use (p<0.01), and endorsed wearing a seatbelt less often (p<0.01). Of the 198 participants in the cosmetic cohort, 52.0% respondents underwent CS, 39.4% CP, and 8.6% CSP. Recreational substance use was higher in CS and CSP cohorts (61.2%, 58.8%) than in control (36.1%) and CP (35.9%) (p<0.01). Tobacco use was greater in the CS (p=0.04) and CSP (p=0.02) cohort than in CP. No differences in sleep, diet, and frequency of unprotected sex were observed between groups.
Conclusion:
Although individuals with a cosmetic history engaged in physical activity more often than their counterparts, they endorsed several unhealthy lifestyle choices more frequently than those without cosmetic interventions. Our findings suggest that those who invest in the health and lifestyle benefits of cosmetic interventions may not necessarily reciprocate such efforts in their day-to-day health choices. This may guide surgeons to more carefully qualify their surgical candidates, counseling them on the relative contraindications of surgery, as well as avoidance of risky behaviors that may interfere with the postprocedural course.