The effectiveness of Flaxseed in the Treatment of Cyclical Mastalgia in Comparison to Centchroman- A Cross-sectional study

Introduction: Approximately 60 to 70 % of women experience some degree of breast pain at some stages of their lives. There are number of drugs which have been tried in the treatment of cyclical mastalgia with varying results and debate on the choice for management. Methods: A quasi randomized controlled trial was undertaken among 140 women with cyclical mastalgia in a tertiary care teaching hospital in Nepal. Enrollment occurred for two years between March 2017 to March 2019. The first group A received flaxseed daily for two months. The second intervention group B received centchroman tablet. Patients were followed at the end of four and eight weeks of treatment. Data analyses were performed using logistic regression and results were reported as odds ratio and 95% confidence interval along with P value. Results: The mean VAS pain score in flaxseed group was 6.34 ± 1.649 at baseline presented with pain before starting the medication, 2.82 ± 1.814 at first month, 1.05 ± 1.251 at second month after consumption of flaxseed and that of centchroman was 6.15 ± 1.696 at baseline, 4.22 ± 1.509 at first month, 2.22 ± 2.111 at second month of therapy. Conclusions: Flaxseed reduced the mastalgia pain more effectively than centchroman in the first and second month. Flaxseed is an inexpensive, tolerable, and easily accessible seed crop which can be used for the treatment of cyclical mastalgia.