ABSTRACT
Breast hypertrophy has been associated with a significant impact on quality of life. Aim: To validate a specific scale to evaluate quality of life of Chilean women with symptomatic breast hypertrophy. Material and Methods: We included 80 women, 40 patients (20 undergoing reduction mammoplasty) and 40 controls. The Breast Related Symptoms (BRS) questionnaire in Spanish was used. The results are expressed as a score ranging from 0 to 100, with higher values representing better specific quality of life. Internal consistency, reliability and validity of the test were evaluated. The results of patients and controls and the scores of patients undergoing reduction mammoplasty, before and after surgery, were compared. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was constructed to define the score cutoff point defining symptomatic breast hypertrophy. Results: The Cronbach´s alpha was 0.96, linear weighed kappa test-retest was 0.87 [95% confidence intervals (CI) 0.31-1] and inter-observer variability was 0.79 [95% CI 0.71-0.87]. Participants with breast hypertrophy had a lower specific quality of life than the control group (25 (2-71) and 91 (25-100) respectively, p < 0.01). In patients undergoing surgery, the preoperative score was lower than the postoperative figures (37 (12-71) and 96 [94-100] respectively, p < 0.01). The area under the ROC curve was 0.97 (p < 0,001) and the cutoff point for symptomatic breast hypertrophy was a score below 72.1. Conclusions: The Spanish version of the BRS questionnaire is a valid and reliable instrument to measure specific quality of life in Chilean women with mammary hypertrophy.