Who is affected by Bell's palsy?

Bell's palsy is the most common type of facial paralysis. It may be related to a virus such as herpes simplex or herpes zoster. It seems to be more likely to occur in people who have diabetes, and may be more likely in pregnant women. Bell's palsy affects:

About 25 people out of 100,000.¹ That means about 75,000 Americans are affected each year.
Equal numbers of men and women.²
People between the ages of 15 and 40 years in most cases, although it can occur at any age.³

References

Citations

Solomon D (2003). Bell's palsy and other VII lesions. In RW Evans, ed., Saunders Manual of Neurologic Practice, chap. 6, pp. 348–352. Philadelphia: Saunders.

Ropper AH, Brown RH (2005). Diseases of the cranial nerves. In Adams and Victor's Principles of Neurology, 8th ed., pp. 1178–1190. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Holland J (2006). Bell's palsy, search date February 2006. Online version of Clinical Evidence (15).

Credits

Author	Shannon Erstad, MBA/MPH
Editor	Kathleen M. Ariss, MS
Associate Editor	Pat Truman, MATC
Primary Medical Reviewer	Anne C. Poinier, MD - Internal Medicine
Specialist Medical Reviewer	Colin Chalk, MD, CM, FRCPC - Neurology
Last Updated	August 8, 2007