Cyclic Mastalgia in Iranian Women: A Review

Abstract

Despite the high prevalence of cyclic mastalgia, there is much disagreement and uncertainties about its treatment methods. The present study aims to review studies conducted on cyclic mastalgia over the past two decades in Iran. In this regard, a search was conducted in Scopus, SID, PubMed, Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, and IranMedex databases on articles published in Persian and English from 1998 to 2018 using the following keywords: “Mastalgia”, “cyclic mastalgia”, “breast pain”, and “Mastodynia”. Initial search yielded 975 articles. Of these, 29 were selected for review based on inclusion criteria; 19 interventional and 10 non-interventional. Based on the results, most studies reported a mastalgia prevalence of about 30% in Iran. The most common age for cyclic mastalgia was 30 years. In most studies, a significant relationship between premenstrual syndrome and cyclic mastalgia was reported. The use of vitamins and herbal plants were the most common interventions for cyclic mastalgia, while counseling was the least common type. It seems that cyclic mastalgia affects the sleep quality and physical and sexual activities. Due to the high prevalence of cyclic mastalgia reported in various studies in Iran, and the lack a same treatment protocol, further study on cyclic mastalgia is recommended.