Biopsychosocial risk factors for pain and pain-related disability 1 year after surgery for breast cancer.

Purpose: Knowledge regarding risk factors for pain in the long term after surgery for breast cancer may be of great value in preventing this prevalent and debilitating side effect. Despite the biopsychosocial nature of pain, the predictive value of both pre- and postoperative biopsychosocial functioning for long-term pain intensity and pain-related disability has not yet been studied.

Methods: One hundred sixty-six women planned for unilateral breast cancer surgery were included in this prospective cohort study.