Quality of Life Varies With Gender and Age Among Adults Treated for Unilateral Cleft Lip and Palate

Objective: To evaluate health-related quality of life among adults treated for unilateral cleft lip and palate and to investigate whether patients were affected differently depending on gender and age. Design: Cross-sectional population study with long-term follow-up. Patients/Settings: All unilateral cleft lip and palate patients born 1960-1987 and treated at Uppsala University Hospital were invited (n = 109). Response rate was 79% (n = 86). Mean follow-up time was 35 years. Norm data matched for age and gender were used for comparison (n = 1385). Main Outcome Measures: Health-related quality of life measured with the SF-36 questionnaire. High values indicate good level of health-related quality of life. Results: The total patient group had lower values in the Mental Health subscale compared with norm data (p = .005). Values in all other subscales did not differ from norm data. Women had a higher positive difference than men in the subscale emotional role function compared with the matched norm population (p < .001). The younger age group (20 to 32 years old) consistently had a larger negative difference to matched norm data compared with the older age group (33 to 47 years old) in the subscales social function (p = .009), physical role function (p < .001), and emotional role function (p < .001). Conclusions: Unilateral cleft lip and palate affected health-related quality of life differently depending on gender and age of the patient. Younger patients were affected more negatively than older patients on several subscales. However, except for the mental health subscale, health-related quality of life was similar among unilateral cleft lip and palate patients and norm data.