This is the first study to examine the sexual satisfaction of women diagnosed with cyclical mastalgia. In Iran and other countries around the world, a limited number of studies have been conducted on cyclical mastalgia, most of which are devoted to the treatment of breast pain. Few studies have investigated the effect of cyclical mastalgia on different aspects of a woman’s life.
The results of a systematic review of predictors of sexual satisfaction by Diana Rausch (2021) showed that relationship satisfaction and the frequency of sexual interactions were identified as the most frequently confirmed predictors of sexual satisfaction across all evaluated studies(26). However, the results showed that the number of sexual interactions was not a predictor of sexual satisfaction among patients with cyclical mastalgia.
The findings showed that most women diagnosed with cyclical mastalgia had average sexual satisfaction (63.7%), and a minority of participants reported a lack of sexual satisfaction (2%). Among the remaining participants, 29.9% had low sexual satisfaction, and 4.4% had high sexual satisfaction. Molavi et al. (2015) conducted a study to investigate the performance and sexual satisfaction of couples after mastectomy. They concluded that mastectomy surgery has a significant negative effect on women’s sexual satisfaction (27). This study is similar to ours because it investigated sexual satisfaction in another group of women with breast-related problems. Because breasts are the second most important sexual organ in women(15), the results of both studies can be justified to some extent. In both studies, Larson’s evaluation index was used to evaluate sexual satisfaction.
The results demonstrated that occupation can affect sexual satisfaction. A comparative study conducted by Khaneghahi et al (2019) on illness anxiety and marital sexual satisfaction in employed and housewife-married women illustrated that women who were housewives had greater sexual satisfaction than women who were employed(28). This study is not in line with our study. The presence of cyclical mastalgia may result in different outcomes.
The results of another study conducted by Bahrami (2010) and colleagues on the relationship between infertility and the sexual satisfaction of couples indicate that age, level of education, and job status have no significant relationship with sexual satisfaction(29). The results of this part of Bahrami’s study are not in line with this study. Considering the conflicting results of the aforementioned studies with those of this study, the reason for this difference is probably the cyclical mastalgia of our samples.
The results of a study conducted by Gheisari and Karimian (2013) with the aim of developing a causal model based on the variables of relationship satisfaction, marital quality, sexual relationship anxiety, sexual entitlement, and frequency of sexual interactions among married female students showed that the number of sexual interactions could predict women’s sexual satisfaction(30). In the present study, the number of sexual interactions also significantly predicted sexual satisfaction. Thus, cyclical mastalgia does not affect the number of sexual interactions.
Based on the results of our study, the level of a woman’s interest in her husband was significantly related to sexual satisfaction. Interest and love between couples satisfy sexual needs, and despite the observation of those who are not satisfied with their sexual relationship despite reaching the peak of sexual pleasure, we may be able to justify the relationship between interest in a spouse and sexual satisfaction. Our results showed that the more women with cyclical mastalgia were interested in their husbands, the greater their sexual satisfaction. Our study conformed to the study of Salemi and his colleagues (2022) on the prediction of the sexual satisfaction of married women based on marital commitment and marital intimacy during the COVID-19 era and showed that the level of love and affection for the spouse is a predictor of sexual satisfaction(31).
The results show that features associated with cyclical mastalgia, such as the number of days a woman experiences breast pain each month, breast pain location, and the severity of breast pain, do not influence sexual satisfaction. In other published studies, the associations between the features or complications of cyclical mastalgia and sexual problems and its etiology have not been investigated. Therefore, cyclical mastalgia does not affect women’s sexual satisfaction.