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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Public Mental Health
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1484025
This article is part of the Research Topic The Association Between Oral Health and Mental Health View all 6 articles

Appearance-related distress impacts psychological symptoms in Chinese patients with cleft lip

Provisionally accepted
Yichun Yang Yichun Yang Renjie Yang Renjie Yang Jiaying Wang Jiaying Wang Zhuojun Xie Zhuojun Xie Yuan Zong Yuan Zong Weiyao Xia Weiyao Xia Meijun Du Meijun Du Shiming Zhang Shiming Zhang Jiayi Yin Jiayi Yin Jiali Chen Jiali Chen Bing Shi Bing Shi Caixia Gong Caixia Gong Hanyao Huang Hanyao Huang *
  • West China School of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    This study aimed to explore the characteristics of appearance-related distress and the relationship between appearance-related distress, anxiety and depression symptoms in Chinese patients with cleft lip (CL). The Derriford Appearance Scale 59 (DAS-59), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) were used to screen for appearance-related distress, anxiety, and depression symptoms in Chinese patients with CL, respectively. A total of 63 patients with CL, comprising 43 unilateral and 20 bilateral cases, and 64 individuals without CL in the control group were included in the study. Appearance-related distress was compared between patients with CL and non-cleft individuals. The relationship between appearance-related distress and two psychological symptoms was estimated. The DAS-59 scores in patients with CL were significantly higher than those in non-cleft individuals. The DAS-59 scores in patients with CL who had anxiety or depression symptoms were significantly higher than those without symptoms, and the DAS-59 scores were correlated with GAD-7 and PHQ-9 scores. After adjustment for demographic variables, the DAS-59 scores were also positively associated with GAD-7 and PHQ-9 scores in patients with CL. In summary, appearance-related distress was observed in Chinese patients with CL but did not exhibit a correlation with the patients' diagnosis (unilateral or bilateral), sex, age, or other demographic characteristics. Furthermore, appearance-related distress plays a significant role in psychological symptoms, potentially serving as predictors of anxiety and depressive symptoms.

    Keywords: Cleft Lip, Mental Health, Anxiety, Depression, Quality of Life

    Received: 21 Aug 2024; Accepted: 06 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Yang, Yang, Wang, Xie, Zong, Xia, Du, Zhang, Yin, Chen, Shi, Gong and Huang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Hanyao Huang, West China School of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China

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