OXTR rs53576 Variation with Breast and Nipple Pain in Breastfeeding Women.
Ruth Lucas, Yiming Zhang, Stephen J Walsh and 2 others
PMID 33303340WHAT IT FOUND
Breastfeeding women with a common oxytocin receptor variant reported more breast and nipple pain over 6 weeks.
Simple touch and pressure tests also tracked pain. This small study cannot guide genetic testing or treatment.
Key findings
01The OXTR rs53576 minor allele was the only SNP associated with breast and nipple pain over time; each minor A allele was linked to an 8.18-point higher pain score on the 0-100 scale.
02Mechanical detection threshold and windup ratio were significantly associated with higher breast and nipple pain over time.
03OXTR rs2254298 was associated with dynamic mechanical allodynia; more minor alleles raised the likelihood of a nonzero allodynia value.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
This was a secondary analysis of a pilot study, so it can generate hypotheses but cannot prove that a gene variant or sensory test causes breastfeeding pain. The analysis used 56 women, and the authors state the small sample risks false positive and false negative results. The breastfeeding self-management intervention group was not factored into the pain model, so the reported pain scores may include intervention effects. The pain scale was a 0-100 visual analogue scale, which the authors say is not very sensitive to small differences in pain. Many women received oxytocin augmentation during labor, which the authors say could affect mechanical sensitivity and pain thresholds.
Declared interests
The article lists NIH extramural research support, and all authors declared no financial conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that genetic testing or sensory testing can identify which patients will have breastfeeding pain. This was a small secondary analysis, the intervention group was not factored into the model, and labor oxytocin exposure may have affected pain sensitivity.