Psychological distress in people with disfigurement from facial palsy

Psychological distress is well documented in people with facial disfigurement. However, the prevalence of psychological distress in patients with facial palsy has not been studied. This study aims to establish the prevalence of psychological distress and the extent of anxiety and depression in a sample of facial palsy patients from the Northwest of England.

A total of 103 participants with facial palsy completed a questionnaire pack comprising the Illness Perception Questionnaire-Revised (IPQ-R), a demographic questionnaire, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). The severity of participants' facial palsy was measured by the House-Brackmann scale.

In all, 32.7 and 31.3% of the sample had significant levels of anxiety and depression, respectively. The mean age of participants was 59, and 35.9% had grade 6 facial palsy. Significant associations were found between participants' perception of consequences, duration, timeline, and the level of distress. No significant associations were found between clinical severity of facial palsy and levels of distress. Females had significantly higher levels of anxiety compared with males.

There was a significant level of distress in this study group. The levels of psychological distress were higher than the levels found in other outpatient attenders. There were significant associations between participants' illness perceptions and their level of distress.