Gynecomastia Linked to Increased Risk for Death

FRIDAY, Jan. 19, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Men with gynecomastia have a increased risk for all-cause death, especially those with gynecomastia with a known preexisting risk factor, according to a study published online Jan. 16 in BMJ Open.

Elvira V. Bräuner, Ph.D., from Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark, and colleagues conducted a nationwide register-based cohort study involving 23,429 men diagnosed with incident gynecomastia from Jan. 1, 1995, to June 30, 2021. Participants were age- and calendar-matched to randomly selected men without gynecomastia in a 1:5 ratio (117,145 controls).

Overall, 16,253 men with idiopathic gynecomastia and 7,176 with gynecomastia with a known preexisting risk factor were identified; of these, 6.7 and 20.9 percent, respectively, died during follow-up. The researchers found that the risk for all-cause death was significantly increased in men with gynecomastia in the entire cohort (hazard ratio [HR], 1.37; 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.31 to 1.43). The risk for death was highest in those diagnosed with gynecomastia who had a known preexisting risk factor (HR, 1.75; 95 percent CI, 1.64 to 1.86) compared with those with idiopathic gynecomastia (HR, 1.05; 95 percent CI, 0.98 to 1.13). Malignant neoplasms and circulatory, pulmonary, and gastrointestinal diseases were specific causes of increased death. A more than fivefold risk for death from liver disease was also identified (HR, 5.05; 95 percent CI, 3.97 to 6.42).

"These findings will hopefully stimulate more awareness among health care providers to potentially apply interventions that aid in alleviating underlying risk factors in males with this condition," the authors write.

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