Noncyclic Mastalgia: A Chronic Pain Syndrome Needed to Be Evaluated in A Multidisciplinary Approach

Background: Mastalgia as a chronic pain syndrome and its association with psychological disorders has not been fully addressed. Methods: All women with non-cyclic mastalgia attending to our center were screened for psychological disorders using General Health Questionaire-28 (GHQ 28) and those with score > 23 were referred to the psychiatry clinic. Results: 60 patients were evaluated. Duration of mastalgia (month), days with pain in one month and duration of pain from onset to relief (minute) were 14.35±18.61, 13.01±7.36, and 79.23±180.82, respectively. Bilateral (43.33%), intermittent (58.33%), and radiating (58.34%) pain improved spontaneously (48.33%) was the most common characteristic of mastalgia. Mean GHQ score was 27.36± 12.7 and 50% of the patients had GHQ>23. Major depressive disorder (35%), mixed anxiety and depression disorder (26.66%) and general anxiety disorder (21.66%) were three leading diagnoses. Conclusion: It is required to respond to patient’s psychological disorder to reach sustain therapeutic results.