What causes male breast enlargement?

Good health is what everyone pursues, but diseases are something that everyone will encounter to a certain extent. Everyone cares about women's health, but men's health is also worthy of attention. Men may also have some "special" problems, such as male breast hypertrophy. It may seem a bit funny, but it is actually a sign of disease. What causes male breast hypertrophy?

1. Primary gynecomastia. It is more common in children and adolescents. It is often caused by physiological endocrine disorders, with plasma estradiol levels higher than testosterone levels, resulting in a transient imbalance in the estrogen/androgen ratio, or increased sensitivity of breast tissue to estrogen. It is also called physiological gynecomastia.

2. Secondary gynecomastia. 1. Endocrine diseases (1) Testicular diseases. Due to hypogonadism, androgen secretion is very low, and the ratio of testosterone to estrogen in the blood changes, causing gynecomastia.

(2) Adrenal diseases such as adrenal cortical hyperplasia, benign tumors, malignant tumors and decreased function. Such tumors can directly secrete estrogen or produce excessive estrogen precursors (such as androstanone), which are converted into effective estrogen in the tissues, increasing blood estradiol and causing breast hypertrophy.

(3) Thyroid diseases such as hyperthyroidism increase the concentration of sex hormone-binding globulin in plasma, resulting in excessive bound androgens, increased free estradiol (unbound estradiol), and an increased estrogen/testosterone ratio, leading to hormonal imbalance and stimulating breast tissue proliferation, resulting in male breast hypertrophy.

2. Other non-endocrine diseases

(1) Liver diseases such as hepatitis, cirrhosis, liver cancer, etc., when accompanied by decreased liver function, often cause breast hypertrophy.

(2) Recovery period of chronic malnutrition: During malnutrition, the secretion of gonadotropin decreases. When malnutrition is corrected, a phenomenon reminiscent of a second puberty occurs, and breast hypertrophy occurs, which is called "feeding-induced breast hypertrophy."

(3) Bronchogenic carcinoma and chronic lung diseases such as oat cell carcinoma, tuberculosis, and pectoris abscessus can cause breast hypertrophy due to local irritation.

(4) Chronic renal failure: Patients with uremia caused by chronic renal failure have been tested to have relatively elevated estrogen and prolactin levels in their blood, leading to breast development and hypertrophy.

(5) Diseases of the nervous system such as paralysis caused by high spinal cord lesions, syringomyelia, and hereditary movement disorders may be accompanied by breast hypertrophy.

(6) Long-term use of estrogen for treatment of prostate hyperplasia or prostate cancer may often cause male breast enlargement.

(7) Lymphatic system diseases such as lymphoma, malignant histiocytoma, myeloma and other reticuloendothelial system diseases are also rare causes of male breast development.

(8) Drug-induced breast enlargement. Gonadotropins such as chlorpromazine, cimetidine, methyldopa, metoclopramide, metronidazole, isoniazid, reserpine, meconium, and thyroid extract can bind to estrogen receptors and cause endocrine disorders in the body, which can lead to male breast development. However, the enlarged breasts can usually recover after stopping the drug.

(9) Other diseases such as cardiovascular disease (hypertension, heart disease), severe skin diseases (leprosy, exfoliative dermatitis), autoimmune diseases (rheumatic arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis), leptospirosis, ulcerative colitis, etc. may sometimes be accompanied by male breast development.

This is the possible cause of male breast enlargement. If a man encounters this situation, he needs to consider which one he is in. If necessary, he should go to the hospital for a physical examination to avoid other problems. If it is normal hypertrophy, it is good. If it is some of the bad situations mentioned above, it needs to be discovered and treated immediately. Male friends should also pay attention to their own health problems.