Association between Bell's Palsy and Cardiometabolic Risks: An Age- and Sex-Matched Case-Control Study

Bell's palsy is possibly an ischemic cranial neuropathy, although reactivation of herpes virus infection has been proposed.

This was an age-and sex-matched and 1:2 case-control study enrolling Bell's palsy patients during 2011-2021 in a university hospital to investigate the significant associations of cardiometabolic risks (CMRs) with Bell's palsy. We analyzed the differences in waist circumference (WC), body mass index (BMI), systolic and diastolic blood pressures (SBP and DBP), fasting blood sugar (FBS), and lipid levels at 12 weeks post-Bell's palsy with those of the controls by descriptive statistics (p < 0.05). The differences in means or medians of individual CMR values across the consecutive 10-year age intervals were analyzed by ANOVA F-tests and Kruskal-Wallis tests (p < 0.05).

A total of 140 cases and 280 controls were enrolled. Bell's palsy patients had significantly higher WC, BMI, SBP, DBP, FBS, and triglyceride but lower high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). Moreover, high WC, elevated FBS (≥100 mg/dL), SBP (≥130 mmHg), and total cholesterol were significantly associated with Bell's palsy cases by multivariable analysis. Only FBS in Bell's palsy patients significantly elevated across consecutive 10-year age intervals.

Screening and monitoring for CMRs, especially hyperglycemia, in every patient presenting with Bell's palsy is essential despite initial normoglycemia, particularly in older-onset cases.