Adverse childhood experiences and mental health issues in patients seeking cosmetic surgery: A case-control study

Objectives: Cosmetic surgery has emerged as a notable phenomenon within the health industry, with significant advancements, particularly in the recent decades. This study sought to explore the prevalence of mental health issues and adverse childhood experiences among individuals pursuing cosmetic surgery. Methods: This case-control study included women seeking cosmetic surgery as the case group, while women from the general population were included in the control group. Each group consisted of 100 participants. The research was conducted between May and June 2024, during which relevant data were collected. The study assessed key outcome variables, including adverse childhood experiences, self-rated health, self-esteem, and general health indicators such as depression, anxiety, social dysfunction, and somatic complaints. The analysis employed adjusted multivariate covariance with 95% confidence intervals. Results: The multivariate covariance analysis revealed significant differences between the cosmetic surgery and control groups. Pairwise comparisons indicated that individuals in the cosmetic surgery group reported higher rates of emotional abuse (P < 0.001), physical abuse (P < 0.001), sexual abuse (P < 0.001), emotional neglect (P < 0.001), and physical neglect (P < 0.001). Moreover, this group exhibited lower levels of self-esteem (P < 0.001) and higher occurrences of somatic complaints (P < 0.001), anxiety (P < 0.001), and depression (P < 0.001) compared to the control group. Discussion: This study highlights that individuals seeking cosmetic surgery are more likely to have experienced adverse childhood events and faced mental health issues than those in the general population. These findings suggest that adverse childhood experiences may contribute to the decision to undergo cosmetic surgery later in life. Consequently, addressing mental health issues in greater depth and precision is essential in this context. (c) 2025 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)