Prevalence of depressive symptoms in patients with cleft lip and palate.

INTRODUCTION

Cleft lip and/or palate (CL/P) represent the most common congenital anomalies of the face.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the prevalence of depressive symptoms in children and adolescents with nonsyndromic cleft lip and/or palate (nsCL/P).

METHODS

We conducted an observational, case-control study, with a case study group composed of 61 patients with nsCL/P, aged 7-17 years, and a control group of 61 clinically normal patients. Both groups were selected at the same institution.

RESULTS

Depressive symptoms were observed in the case group (nsCL/P), but there were no statistically significant differences compared to the control group. No association was found between the two groups (case and control) in relation to sociodemographic variables: gender, age and education.

CONCLUSIONS

This study identified the prevalence of depressive symptoms in children and adolescents with nsCL/P from a localized geographic population, although the results were not statistically significant when compared to the control group, not justifying the use of CDI (Child Depression Inventory) as a screening instrument for depressive symptoms in the examined population.