INCIDENCE AND LIFETIME PREVALENCE OF BELLS-PALSY IN 2 SICILIAN MUNICIPALITIES

Introduction - In a door-to-door two-phase survey of common neurologic diseases conducted in two Sicilian municipalities, we investigated th e incidence and the lifetime prevalence of Bell's palsy (BP). Material & methods - During phase 1, we administered a screening instrument fo r facial palsy to 11,901 adult persons. During phase 2, study neurolog ists using specified diagnostic criteria evaluated those subjects who screened positive. Results - We found 73 subjects who had experienced BP during their life. The lifetime prevalence as of November 1, 1987, was 642.8 cases per 100,000 population age 15 years and above. The pre valence increased with age and was similar in men and women. Eighteen episodes of BP occurred in the three years preceding the prevalence da y. The average annual incidence rate was 52.8 new episodes per 100,000 population age 15 years and above. Incidence increased with age. Conc lusion Comparison with other incidence studies suggests some geographi c variability.