Epidemiology of Bell's palsy in an Italian Health District: incidence and case-control study.
The incidence of Bell's palsy has been estimated in a health district of a major Italian city, taking also into consideration the potential risk factors that might influence the occurrence of Bell's palsy. A matched case-control was therefore designed, by collecting data from the Emergency Departments of four Hospitals belonging to the same Health District in Rome (Italy), coordinated by a tertiary referral centre University Hospital. All patients affected by Bell's palsy within the health district and four controls for each case were included. Controls were selected from other ENT patients, and were matched for hospital admission, week of disease onset, and climate conditions. Information regarding possible risk factors was collected using standardized telephone interviews. The resulting dataset was analyzed using multiple conditional logistic regression. The study group comprised 381 patients with acute, unilateral, peripheral facial palsy, clinically diagnosed as Bell's palsy observed between 1st January 2006 and 31st December 2008. The cumulative incidence of Bell's palsy was found to be 53.3/100.000/year. Among the risk factors, age was found to influence onset of Bell's palsy, with an odds ratio of 2% for each one-year increase in age, with a linear trend (95% CI = 1-3%; p = 0.005). Bell's palsy was found to occur with an annual incidence close to previous reports. Among the possible known risk factors (diabetes, pregnancy, etc.), only aging was found to play a significant role.
Department of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Sensory Organs, Otorhinolaryngology Unit, II Medical School, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.
S
S
Monini
A I
AI
Lazzarino
C
C
Iacolucci
A
A
Buffoni
M
M
Barbara
D020330:Bell Palsy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012384:Rome / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol. 2008 Jul;265(7):743-52
18368417
Otol Neurotol. 2005 Jan;26(1):109-13
15699730
Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 1961 Aug;42:602-8
13708386
J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 1982 Jul;45(7):652-5
7119834
Acta Otolaryngol Suppl. 2002;(549):4-30
12482166
Eura Medicophys. 2006 Mar;42(1):41-7
16565685
Laryngoscope. 1991 Jul;101(7 Pt 1):744-50
2062155
Otol Neurotol. 2009 Aug;30(5):640-4
19574944
Health Technol Assess. 2009 Oct;13(47):iii-iv, ix-xi 1-130
19833052
Rev Neurol. 2005 Sep 1-15;41(5):287-90
16138286
Neuroepidemiology. 2002 Sep-Oct;21(5):255-61
12207155
Ann Intern Med. 1996 Jan 1;124(1 Pt 1):63-5
7503479
Eur Neurol. 2008;60(5):253-7
18756090
J Neurol. 2005 Jun;252(6):672-6
15778908
QJM. 2002 Jun;95(6):359-62
12037243
BMC Neurol. 2001 Dec 18;1:7
11737872
Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2002 Jan;126(1):26-30
11821761
Auris Nasus Larynx. 2000 Jul;27(3):207-12
10808106
Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2009 Oct 07;(4):CD001869
19821283