Body Mass Index and Other Factors Related to Mastalgia: A Cross Sectional Study

BACKGROUND: Mastalgia is a common complaint in females aged 30–50 years. Mastalgia varies in degrees of severity. The quality of life of women may be adversely affected by severe mastalgia. It was associated with disturbance in sexual, social, and physical activities and behaviors. AIM: The main objective of this study is to investigate factors affecting mastalgia. METHODS: This is an analytical cross-sectional study. Conducted on 148 females attending the Family Medicine outpatient clinic. Mastalgia was assessed by new breast pain score. RESULTS: The mean age of patients was 32.6 and their mean body mass index (BMI) was 24.8. The majority of the cases were highly educated 48% and working 58.1%. There was a highly statistically significant difference between females with mild pain and those of moderate to severe pain regarding to BMI as the mean of BMI in patient with mild pain was 22.7 ± 2.5 while it was 27.6 ± 3.1., there was highly statistically significant difference between both groups as regards to the type of the contraception used that means females who used hormonal contraception had more pain. After logistic regression the only remaining significant factor was BMI 0.001. CONCLUSION: There are many factors affecting mastalgia as BMI, type of contraception, menstrual regularity, menstrual duration, breast pain duration, and premenstrual symptoms. But BMI is the most important factor affecting mastalgia.