ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Fourteen percent of American adults say they have had some type of cosmetic treatment or surgery, according to the results of a new Harris Interactive poll of 2,719 U.S. adults conducted online Sept. 9-13, 2004 for the Wall Street Journal
Online's Health Industry Edition.
Non-invasive cosmetic treatments appear to be more popular with one in 10 adults (9 percent) having teeth whitening, bonding or other cosmetic dental work, and smaller numbers (1 percent) having facial skin resurfacing treatments, laser treatments for veins, hair removal, etc., and/or injections for wrinkles.
With one exception, the majority of adults who have had invasive cosmetic treatments, including LASIK eye surgery, liposuction, and various cosmetic surgeries, have done so electively rather than out of medical necessity. Only those having bariatric surgery for weight loss have had the procedure more so for medical than elective reasons (77 percent to 23 percent).
"While Americans seem increasingly concerned about the costs of health
care, there is also a sector of the public that is willing to pay for a
variety of elective cosmetic procedures," says Katherine Binns, senior vice
president of healthcare at Harris Interactive. "More than one in 10 adults
have received non-invasive cosmetic treatments such as laser treatments, skin
resurfacing, injections for wrinkles and cosmetic dentistry; and men are just
as likely as women to have these treatments."
Non-invasive treatments and procedures are administered by a variety of
providers including MDs, technicians, and other types of medical professionals.
Of those receiving either invasive or non-invasive treatments, almost
two-thirds (63 percent) were not very or were not at all concerned about the
potential risks or complications before the procedure. Only 7 percent of
those receiving invasive or non-invasive treatments have had any medical
problems that required follow-up as a result of any procedure they received.
Source: Harris Interactive