The effect of metabolic syndrome on Bell's palsy recovery rate.

OBJECTIVE

This study investigated the effects metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its factors such as diabetes mellitus (DM), hypertension (HTN), obesity, hypertriglyceridemia (high TG) and low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (low HDL-C) on the recovery rate of patients with BP.

METHODS

The medical records of 124 patients with BP were retrospectively reviewed. Patients were divided into a MetS group and a Non-MetS group according to the diagnostic criteria of MetS, and the demographic and clinical characteristics of the two groups at baseline and six months after BP onset were analyzed.

RESULTS

Age was significantly higher in the MetS group than in the Non-MetS group (p < .05), but there were no significant differences in sex ratio, initial House-Brackmann (H-B) grade, initial electroneurography and initial electromyography (p > .05). The most common comorbidity of BP was high TG, followed by low HDL-C, HTN, obesity and DM. There were no differences in initial H-B grade in patients with and without each component of the MetS (p > .05). The recovery rate of BP was significantly lower in the MetS than in the Non-MetS group and was particularly affected by DM, obesity and high TG.

CONCLUSIONS

Recovery rate op BP is lower in patients with than without MetS.