The prevalence of gynecomastia and its relationship with age in 1589 Turkish patients who underwent CT scans due to various reasons

INTRODUCTION: In this study, we aimed to contribute to the literature on the prevalence of gynecomastia and its relationship with age in Turkey by examining patients who underwent chest CT scans ordered for various reasons in male patients in our hospital.
METHODS: A total of 1589 male patients who underwent chest CT scans due to various reasons between 01/01/2019 and 31/12/2019 were included in the study. If a patient underwent multiple chest CT scans, only the first examination was used for the analysis. Patients’ age, presence of gynecomastia (GM) and laterality were recorded. Furthermore, the patients were divided into age decades. The correlations between GM, laterality and age decades were investigated.
RESULTS: A total of 1589 patients who underwent CT scans with various indications were included in the study. In CT examinations, GM was detected incidentally in 439 (27.6%) of the patients. Of all GMs, 234 (53.3%) were bilateral, 117 (26.6%) were left unilateral and 88 (20.0%) were right unilateral. GM peaked in the age range of 60-70 years and 70-80 years. A significant positive correlation was found between bilateral GM and age (r=0.115, p<0.001).
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: In our study, the prevalence of GM was found as 27.6%. Bilateral GMs were more common by 53.3%, while left unilateral GMs were more frequent. The prevalence of GM peaked to times in the age ranges of 60-70 years and 4 70-80 years. There was a statistically significant correlation between bilateral GM and age.