Psychosocial Status and Self-Perception in Patients with Cleft Lip And/or Palate

Objective: To describe how the psychosocial status of patients with cleft lip and/or palate (CL/P) relates to patient-reported outcomes (PROs).

Design: Cross-sectional retrospective chart review.

Setting: Tertiary care pediatric hospital.

Patients/participants: Patients aged 8 to 29 years attending cleft team evaluations during a 1-year period.

Main Outcome Measures: CLEFT-Q.

Results: Patients (N = 158) with isolated or syndromic CL/P and mean age 13.4 ± 3.0 years were included. Fifteen (9%) patients had siblings who also had CL/P. Of 104 patients who met with the team psychologist, psychosocial concerns were identified in 49 (47%) patients, including 25 (24%) with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder or behavior concerns, 28 (27%) with anxiety, and 14 (13%) with depression or mood concerns. Younger age and having siblings with cleft were associated with better PROs, while psychosocial concerns were associated with worse PROs on Speech, Psychosocial, and Face Appearance scales.

Conclusions: Patient perception of cleft outcomes is linked to psychosocial factors.