Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2021 Jun;22(3):369-376.
doi: 10.1016/j.pmn.2020.09.007. Epub 2020 Dec 8.

OXTR rs53576 Variation with Breast and Nipple Pain in Breastfeeding Women

Ruth Lucas  1 , Yiming Zhang  2 , Stephen J Walsh  2 , Angela Starkweather  2 , Erin Young  3
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

OXTR rs53576 Variation with Breast and Nipple Pain in Breastfeeding Women

Ruth Lucas et al. Pain Manag Nurs. 2021 Jun.

Abstract

Thirty percent of women who seek professional breastfeeding support require assistance with ongoing breast and nipple pain and < 50% of women report resolution of their pain. It is unknown if there is a molecular risk for ongoing breast and nipple pain during breastfeeding. Aim -To evaluate associations among breast and nipple pain sensitivity and candidate pain sensitivity single-nucleotide polymorphisms [SNPs], (COMT rs6269, rs4633, rs4818, rs4680 and OXTR rs2254298, rs53576) in breastfeeding women. Design - A secondary analysis of a pilot randomized controlled trial of a pain self-management intervention conducted over 6 weeks postpartum. Setting and Participants - Sixty women were recruited from two hospital settings after birth. Methods - All participants underwent standardized mechanical somatosensory testing for an assessment of pain sensitivity and provided baseline buccal swabs for genetic analysis. At 1, 2, and 6 weeks postpartum, women self-reported breast and nipple pain severity using a visual analogue scale. Results - Women with the minor allele OXTR rs53576 reported 8.18-fold higher breast and nipple pain severity over time. For every 1-unit increase in Mechanical detection threshold and windup ratio, women reported 16.51-fold and 4.82-fold higher breast and nipple pain severity respectively. Six women with the OXTR rs2254298 minor allele reported allodynia. Conclusion - The presence of OXTR alleles in women with enhanced pain sensitivity suggests a phenotype of genetic risk for ongoing breast and nipple with potential for pain-associated breastfeeding cessation. Somatosensory testing identified women who reported higher breast and nipple pain during the first weeks of breastfeeding.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest

All authors have no financial relationships relevant to this article to disclose or any conflict of interest relevant to this manuscript.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
The red curve in each plot represents the trend of mean pain severity for the homozygous minor (rs6269, rs4818, rs4680, GG; rs4633, TT; rs2254298, rs53576, AA); the green curve represents the heterozygous minor alleles (rs6269, G/A; rs4818 C/G; rs4680 A/G; rs4633, C/T; rs2254298, rs53576, A/G); the blue curve represents the homozygous major alleles (rs6269, rs4680, A/A; rs4818, rs4633, C/C; rs2254298, rs53576, A/A). The grey shade represents the confidence interval of the trend. Note that there was only one A/A of rs2254298 in the sample, so the red curve in the rs2254298 graph represents the pain severity trend for that single individual.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Amir LH, Jones LE, & Buck ML (2015). Nipple pain associated with breastfeeding: Incorporating current neurophysiology into clinical reasoning. Australian Family Physician, 44(3), 127–132. - PubMed
    1. Antypa N, Drago A, & Serretti A (2013). The role of COMT gene variants in depression: Bridging neuropsychological, behavioral and clinical phenotypes. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 37(8), 1597–1610. - PubMed
    1. As-Sanie S, Harris RE, Harte SE, Tu FF, Neshewat G, & Clauw DJ (2013). Increased pressure pain sensitivity in women with chronic pelvic pain. Obstetrics and Gynecology, 122(5), 1047–1055. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Augustine RA, Seymour AJ, Campbell RE, Grattan DR, & Brown CH (2018). Integrative neurohumoural regulation of oxytocin neurone activity in pregnancy and lactation. Journal of Neuroendocrinology, 30(8), 1–15. - PubMed
    1. Backonja MM, Attal N, Baron R, Bouhassira D, Drangholt M, Dyck PJ, Edwards RR, Freeman R, Gracely R, Haanpaa MH, Hansson P, Hatem SM, Krumova EK, Jensen TS, Maier C, Mick G, Rice AS, Rolke R, Treede RD, Serra J, Toelle T, Tugnoli V, Walk D, Walalce MS, Ware M, Yarnitsky D, & Ziegler D (2013). Value of quantitative sensory testing in neurological and pain disorders: NeuPSIG consensus. Pain, 154(9), 1807–1819. - PubMed

Publication types

-