Gynecomastia Lowers Teenagers Psychosocial Well-Being

According to study that was published in the April issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery®, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), male adolescents who are suffering from gynecomastia have lower psychosocial wellbeing.

Laura C. Nuzzi and her colleagues from Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School conducted the study to determine the physical and psychosocial impact of gynecomastia on adolescent males seeking treatment. They then compared the results to those taken from healthy males.

It is true that aside from the physical issue that those affected by gynecomastia face, they also have to deal with how it affects them psychosocially. Having man boobs can easily crush one’s self confidence, especially at a time where body image is very delicate.

The team prepared a survey that was administered to 47 adolescents with gynecomastia against 92 controls. All of the participants were between the ages 12-21.

The researchers used the Short Form-36 Version 2 which is used to evaluate the individual patient’s health status, to research on the cost effectiveness of a treatment and to monitor and compare the disease burden. In addition to that they also used the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and Eating Attitudes Test-26.

The results showed that those suffering with gynecomastia had a higher body mass index than the control group. There was also no difference observed between the Eating Attitude Test-26 scores of patients and controls.

They also established that the severity of gynecomastia had no effect on survey scores, and it was independent of body mass index category.

The results showed that gynecomastia causes a significant negative impact on psychosocial well-being for those male adolescents affected by it. It particularly targets social functioning, mental heal and self-esteem. And the severity of the disease doesn’t affect the psychosocial impact done to the patient.

These results are important not only to health care providers but also to anyone who know someone who might be suffering from this condition.

This is not something to be laughed about or something to be taken lightly. The psychosocial impairments created by gynecomastia should be taken into consideration when helping someone deal with the problem. Not only will the physical aspect be addressed but the psychosocial as well.

Those affected by it reported of embarrassment, rejection, humiliation, and teasing. And this was further supported by case reports with these affected adolescents sharing that they feel increasingly lonely, restless and tense. There are also related reports which revealed a higher associated on depression, adjustment disorders, anxiety and suicidal ideation.

The researchers found that in their sample, self-reported social and mental health was more highly impacted compared to physical health. This shows that those subjects with gynecomastia had a decreased health-related quality of life compared to healthy individuals. They are also observed to exhibit a low social function level accompanied by more disordered eating thoughts as well as behaviours.

The authors of the study wrote, “Our results indicate that careful and regular evaluation for gynecomastia may benefit adolescents regardless of body mass index status or severity of gynecomastia. Additional prospective studies examining treatment outcomes in this population are needed.”