Measurement of Health-Related Quality of Life in Patients with Bell's Palsy in Japan

We investigated health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in patients with Bell's palsy. HRQOL questionnaire, SF-36 Japanese version 2, was filled out by 32 patients with Bell' s palsy at 3 weeks or later after the onset. The QOL scores were analysed twice in 15 patients within 7 days and about a month after the onset. No significant relation was observed between age and any of 8 subscales, however significant decrease was noted in 4 of 8 subscales in women, which were Role Physical (p=0.022), Bodily Pain (p=0.039), Mental Health (p=0.039), and Social Functioning (p=0.004). Patients with moderate and severe paralysis (score 832 on Yanagihara grading scale) tended to have lower scores in General Health (p=0.085), compared to the patients with mild paresis (score 34-40 on Yanagihara grading scale). Social Functioning significantly lowered about a month after the onset in comparison to those within 7 days from the onset (p=0.029). In conclusion, HRQOL in Bell' s palsy patients obtained by using SF-36 was promising, and especially Social Functioning (SF) was thought to be the most effective subscale for evaluation of QOL in Bell's palsy.