Quality of Life Assessment for Men With Gynecomastia in Saudi Arabia

Gynecomastia, defined as a benign proliferation of the breasts in males, is a common pathology of breasts among adolescent males. The root cause behind the condition is the hormonal imbalance between androgens and estrogens at the time of puberty. Different treatment options can be used; however, surgery is the preferred option. The quality of life (QoL) of affected Individuals is usually affected in all aspects.

The aim of the study is to assess the QoL of male Saudi patients diagnosed with gynecomastia and their desire to undergo surgical treatment.

A cross-sectional study was conducted using an Arabic self-administered online questionnaire that targeted males in Saudi Arabia and was distributed throughout the kingdom.

A total of 681 participants were involved in this study. Most of the participants were Saudi (n = 607; 90.6%) and married (n = 158; 79%). Approximately, half of the participants were between 18 and 29 years of age (n = 337; 49.5%), while 41.1% and 9.3% were between 30 and 49 years and more than 50 years old, respectively. About 29.5% of the participants were from the middle region, while 26.7% of them were from the northern region, followed by 19.5% of participants from the western region, and only 14.4% and 9.8% from the eastern or southern region. On analysis of different domains, there was no statistically significant difference between participants with gynecomastia and the control group in QoL.

Patients showed no statistically significant change in the QoL between those diagnosed with gynecomastia and those in the control group. Also, more than one-third of our patients did not want to undergo breast reduction surgery.