Teenage girls with uneven or abnormally large breasts should be offered corrective surgery because the issues can significantly affect mental health, experts have warned. Girls with asymmetric breasts have poorer emotional well-being and lower self-esteem than their peers, researchers discovered. They also have issues with eating and interacting socially.
And the negative impact on mental health is just as damaging for girls with a relatively mild difference in breast size, as those with severe differences. In the first study of its kind analysing the mental health implications of breast size, scientists found the negative impact was the same for girls suffering macromastia - a condition which causes abnormally large breasts.
The team of doctors at Boston's Children's Hospital found early medical interventions, including weight control, mental health counselling and even surgery, could help young women struggling with asymmetrical breasts.
Dr Brian Labow, who carried out the research said: 'These findings suggest that patients suffering from breast asymmetry have poorer emotional well-being and lower self-esteem than their female peers.'
He argued medical intervention could be beneficial at a young age to help minimise the negative mental health affects. As part of the study researchers analysed 59 young women aged 12 to 21 years, who all had breast which differed by at least one bra cup size. About 40 per cent of girls also had tuberous breast deformity, a condition in which the breasts don't develop normally.
Researchers carried out tests to ascertain how well the girls functioned psychologically and socially, as well as carrying out tests to score their health-related quality of life. Similar tests were carried out on a group of girls without breast asymmetry, and in girls with macromastia – a condition in which the breasts are abnormally enlarged.
They found several aspects of mental health and wellbeing were lower for girls with different-sized breasts, compared to those with 'normal' breasts. They also had significantly lower scores for emotional wellbeing and self-esteem, after researchers adjusted for differences in body weight. The impact was similar to girls with macromastia – a condition with a known mental health impact - as well as in boys with enlarged breasts and even women with differences in the breasts related to breast cancer surgery.
Having asymmetrical breasts was also associated with borderline issues in social functioning – a person's ability to interact normally in society. They also showed borderline issues with eating behaviours and attitudes.
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