Seasonal Distribution of Bell's Palsy.

Abstract

Bell's palsy (BP) is the most frequently diagnosed acute partial or complete paralysis of the facial nerve which has an unclear etiology and mostly affects one side of the face. Adverse weather conditions are considered to increase the likelihood of developing BP. The retrospective study included 199 BP patients aged 2-82 years that presented to the Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT) clinics at Kumluca State Hospital and Serik State Hospital, Antalya, Turkey and received treatment between January 2017 and December 2020. The 199 patients comprised 106 (53.3%) men and 93 (46.7%) women with a mean age of 42.23 ± 12.99 years. The highest incidence of BP was observed in winter (December-February) (35%), followed by fall (23%), summer (22%), and spring (20%) (p < 0.05). Accordingly, the incidence of BP was significantly higher in November, December, January and February compared to other months of the year (p < 0.05). The results indicated that BP shows seasonal variation and its peak incidence is in winter (December-February). Further studies are needed to explain the reasons for seasonal differences in BP.