Sara Malik, Zuhair Ali Rizvi, Maham Tariq, Mehwish Changeez, Ramlah Ghazanfor, Javaria Malik, Muzna Iftikhar, Aafiya Zulfiqar, Ghulam Khadija, Jahangir Sarwar Khan
Background: Mastalgia is the commonest cause of women presenting to breast clinics, affecting as many as 70% of women at some point in their life. Risk factors include caffeine intake, various drugs, psychological factors, bra pressure and exercise. Treatment options include lifestyle modification, pharmacological intervention and as a last resort, surgery, only in cases refractory to medical treatment.
Materials and Methods: A total of 150 patients were included. Among these 148 (98.7%) were female and 2 (1.3%) were male. A total of 100 (66.7%) were responders while 50 were (33.3%) non-responders.
Sampling Technique: NON-probability convenient sampling.
Results: A total of 150 patients were included. Among these 148 (98.7%) were female and 2 (1.3%) were male. A total of 100 (66.7%) were responders while 50 were (33.3%) non-responders.
Discussion: 51% of patients were between the ages of 15 to 30 years, and 95% of patients were pre-menopausal. Tea, coffee, fast food contributed significantly to mastalgia development. So did attain higher education. Whether this is due to increased health awareness or increased stressors is not known. First-line treatments include acetaminophen, NSAIDs, topical diclofenac and evening primrose oil. Drugs such as tamoxifen, danazol and bromocriptine are not preferred in breast clinics. The most preferred analgesic type was NSAIDs according to our study.
Conclusion: Mastalgia is the major reason for the presentation of women in breast clinics worldwide and Pakistan. Consumption of coffee, tea and multiparity were found out to be related to mastalgia. However breastfeeding, contraceptive use, exercising, nulliparous or were having cyclical pain responded better to evening primrose oil. With the help of this study, we have identified risk factors and appropriate treatment so that the major bulk of patients presenting to breast clinics can be satisfied and treated.
