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

Mastalgia as a chronic pain syndrome and its association with psychological disorders has not been fully addressed. 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.  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. It is required to respond to patient’s psychological disorder to reach sustain therapeutic results.