CORRELATION BETWEEN THE URBAN CLIMATE IN THE CITY OF PRESIDENT PRUDENT (STATE OF SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL) AND THE OCCURRENCE OF PERIPHERAL FACIAL PALSY (Atena Editora)

Abstract

The present work had as objectives to trace the urban climate of the city of Presidente Prudente (State of São Paulo, Brazil), with emphasis on the air temperature; to evaluate the cases of peripheral facial paralysis (PFP), referred for rehabilitation at the Center for Studies and Care in Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation (CEAFIR), of the Science and Technology Faculty of UNESP – Presidente Prudente Campus, at different times of the year, over the period 2012-2014; to compare the incidence of peripheral facial palsy (PFP) in relation to the times of the year when the pathology occurred; and compare the incidence of peripheral facial palsy (PFP) in relation to air temperature at different times of the year. The city of Presidente Prudente is located in the west of the State of São Paulo, between the parallels of 22º07' south latitude and 51º23' west longitude, with an urban area of approximately 60 km² and an estimated population of 218,960 inhabitants, according to IBGE data. The city of Presidente Prudente is located under a tropical climate regime, in an area of climate transition, suffering the action of most atmospheric systems present in South America. While tropical systems give it high temperatures in spring and summer, extratropical systems cause episodes of invasion by cold fronts and polar air in autumn and winter, causing low temperatures. It has a tropical climate, with two defined seasons, a warmer summer/autumn period (average maximum temperatures between 27°C and 29°C) and very rainy (between 150 and 200 mm per month) and mild winters (with average minimum temperatures between 16°C and 18°C) and less humid (monthly rainfall between 20 and 50 mm). Therefore, the climatic seasonality of the city can be summarized as a hot and rainy period between October and March, and a milder and drier period between April and September, when temperatures drop with the entry of the polar masses. Peripheral facial palsy, in relation to involvement according to gender, is estimated to have a slightly higher prevalence among women and its incidence is bimodal, with peaks in the third and eighth decades of life. There is no consensus among the affected age group. The etiology of peripheral facial paralysis is quite diverse, including idiopathic causes, herpes zoster, traumatic, other viruses, neonatal causes, otitis media and sarcaidosis. Some experimental studies support the hypothesis of the etiopathogenic relevance of low temperatures, which may be related to a higher incidence of PFP during the coldest period of the year. However, the associations between the risk of developing Bell's palsy and seasonality, geographic, racial, ethnic and environmental factors, in particular, the association of lower temperatures with a higher incidence of PFP remains a matter of debate, since that there are few studies carried out to investigate the possible relationship between meteorological factors and pathogens of peripheral facial palsy. Due to discrepant data in the literature regarding the seasonality of PFP, as well as the scarcity of studies on this subject, the present work aims to analyze the seasonal distribution of PFP cases referred for physical therapy at CEAFIR. A spatial cut was performed (patients residing in the city of Presidente Prudente) and a temporal cut (between 2012-2014), and this period was chosen due to the considerable increase in demand for physiotherapy care motivated by a disclosure in the media from the city of Presidente Prudente and region. A total of 26 patients were treated with medical referral, 18 women and 8 men. The climate data of air temperature, at different times of the year, over the period 2012-2014, were collected according to those available at the FCT/UNESP Meteorological Station – Presidente Prudente Campus.