Weather conditions and Bell's palsy: five-year study and review of the literature

Danielides, Vassilios; Patrikakos, George; Nousia, Christina-Sophia; Bartzokas, A.; Milionis, Haralampos; Lolis, C. J.; Skevas, A.

doi:10.1186/1471-2377-1-7

Cited by 24 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Experimental findings supported the hypothesis of the etiopathogenetic relevance of low temperatures, which might be related to a higher incidence of BP during the colder period of the year [11]. However, the association of lower temperatures with a higher incidence of BP remains a matter of debate, since recent studies from Mediterranean countries reported conflicting findings [12, 13]. …”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 59%

“…Recently, a Spanish group reported an association between temperature and BP incidence, while a similar relation to other meteorological parameters could not be established [12]. Just 1 year earlier, a group from the northwest of Greece had failed to identify any relation between BP incidence and weather conditions, including temperature [13]. …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Seasonal Variation of Bell’s Palsy in Athens, Greece – A Hospital-Based Retrospective Evaluation over Fifteen Years

et al. 2006

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Epidemiological data on the incidence of Bell’s palsy (BP) are conflicting. The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the variation of cases of BP acutely presented in the emergency room of our department over a 15-year period (January 1990 to December 2004). We examined the monthly and seasonal distribution of BPs among 36,312 patients who came to our emergency services and compared it with the assumed equal distribution of cases over the year (null hypothesis) using χ² techniques. During the observation period 1,252 of all patients (3.45%) presented due to BP. A decline during the summer was observed, in contrast to a peak documented during the autumn and winter. January and July were the months with the highest and lowest frequency of BP, respectively. Statistical analysis revealed a significantly different seasonal (χ² = 10.569; d.f. = 3; p = 0.014) and monthly (χ² = 25.445; d.f. = 11; p = 0.008) pattern of BP cases. The distribution of cases of BP shows a significant variation with a decline during the summer and an increase during the colder period of the year. A similar pattern has been described for reactivated herpetic ocular infections. Since a similar pathogenetic mechanism is regarded as the main cause of BP, the chronobiological aspects and the influence of meteorological factors on the reactivation of latent infections deserves further prospective evaluation.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 59%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal Variation of Bell’s Palsy in Athens, Greece – A Hospital-Based Retrospective Evaluation over Fifteen Years

et al. 2006

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“…There have been conflicting results in these studies. [8][9][10][11] Although many previous studies have commented on different demographic parameters in facial palsy patients, none of them have commented over the predominant side of facial nerve lesion in facial palsy males and female patients. 9,[12][13][14][15][16] Hence, we planned to retrospectively analyse the predominant side of affection in facial palsy male and female patients.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Right sided facial palsy more common in males while left sided facial palsy more common in females

Jain

Verma

2018

Int J Res Med Sci

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Background:The study describes the retrospective analysis of 54 cases of facial nerve palsy patients seen in our neurophysiology Laboratory during February 2016 to January 2018. Methods: Clinically diagnosed cases of facial nerve palsy encountered at neurophysiology laboratory were analyzed on the basis of their diagnosis, age, sex, side affected and their seasonal occurrence. Patients were grouped in to four age groups of <20 yr, 21-40 yr, 41-60 yr and >60 yr. Results: Out of total 54 facial palsy cases with the mean age of 34.39±14.25 yr, 29 (53.70%) were males and 25 (46.30%) were females. Facial palsy was most common in 21-40 yr age group (42.59%, n=23), followed by 41-60 yr age group (29.63%, n=16). Nearly equal number of cases of right sided (26; 48.15%) and left sided (28; 51.85%) facial palsy were observe. However, right side facial palsy was more common in males with right side to left side facial palsy ratio of 1.90:1 and left sided facial palsy was more common in females with right side to left side facial palsy ratio of 1:2.57. Conclusions: Facial palsy cases are uniformly distributed among males and females with preponderance of right facial palsy in males and left facial palsy in females.

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“…Supposedly, combination of certain, yet not fully elucidated, ideal climatic conditions may facilitate HSV-1 primary infection or render human tissues more vulnerable to HSV-1 reactivation [11]. First of all, there is a well-established correlation between cold, winter seasons and the observed number of cases [10,11,12,13,14]. An obvious explanation should attribute the effect in the existence of an inverse association between the risk for BP and the absolute values of temperature [2,15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The most dominant candidates, considered as probable causative factors, include neurotropic viral infections and especially herpes simplex virus type-1 (HSV-1) infection or reactivation, dysregulations of the regional vascular milieu, hypertension, diabetes mellitus (DM) and autoimmune events that usually follow vaccination [6,7,8,9,10]. …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Wind Chill Factor, Temperature and Other Meteorological Parameters on the Incidence of Bell's Palsy: Results Based on a Retrospective, 7-Year Long, Greek Population Study

Kokotis

Katsavos²

2015

Neuroepidemiology

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Background: The etiology of Bell's palsy (BP), the most common type of dysfunction of the facial nerve, remains unclear despite vigorous research. Data concerning the effects of meteorological factors (MFs) on its appearance are inconclusive. The aim of our study was to examine the demographics of a convenience sample of patients with BP and to determine the effects of several MFs in the recorded number of cases per month (cpm). Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 568 files of BP patients and concomitant data of MFs during an 84-month observation period. Information collected included age, gender, diabetic status, number of cpm (months further categorized as winter or summer), mean daily and monthly temperatures and wind speeds and monthly values of wind chill factor (WCF), a measure dependent on both temperature and wind speed. Potential correlations were estimated by univariate analyses (p = 0.05). Results: Demographics were in line with previous research regarding age and diabetic status, but indicative of slight male preponderance. Summer months and mean monthly temperatures showed significant negative correlations with cpm (p = 0.002 and <0.000, respectively) and strong positive correlation with WCF (p < 0.000). Conclusions: MFs can substantially influence the possibility for BP appearance. We propose WCF as a novel, reliable estimator of the overall MF-derived risk.

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Weather conditions and Bell's palsy: five-year study and review of the literature

Cited by 24 publications

References 29 publications

Seasonal Variation of Bell’s Palsy in Athens, Greece – A Hospital-Based Retrospective Evaluation over Fifteen Years

Seasonal Variation of Bell’s Palsy in Athens, Greece – A Hospital-Based Retrospective Evaluation over Fifteen Years

Right sided facial palsy more common in males while left sided facial palsy more common in females

Effects of Wind Chill Factor, Temperature and Other Meteorological Parameters on the Incidence of Bell's Palsy: Results Based on a Retrospective, 7-Year Long, Greek Population Study

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