Facts and
figures
There are over one million people in the UK who have a disfigurement.
The word “disfigurement” is used to describe the aesthetic effects of a mark, rash, scar or skin graft on a person’s skin or an asymmetry or paralysis to their face or body*. Disfigurement can affect anyone at any time, at any age, from any ethnic group whether from birth, accident, disease or the aftermath of surgery.
There are no official statistics to record the scale of disfigurement, but in 1988 the Disability Survey (conducted by the Office for Population Censuses and Surveys) estimated that there were at least 400,000 people in the UK who had a disfigurement to their face and/or body, defined as “a scar, blemish or deformity which severely affected their ability to lead a normal life”. This figure has, however, little foundation and has been unsatisfactory as a basis for raising public awareness and advocating for better services.
In the autumn of 2007, Changing Faces commissioned a thorough search of all existing studies, data and websites to create a better estimate of the incidence and prevalence of disfiguring conditions. This has been conducted by Professor Desmond Julian (retired cardiologist) and Dr James Partridge (MSc (Demography)) supported by the Changing Faces Research Council members including Professor Walter Holland (epidemiologist). The survey’s findings will be published in due course in a peer-reviewed journal.
The aim of the survey was to establish a more accurate and sophisticated estimate of the incidence and prevalence** of significant disfigurement, based on reasonable and tough assumptions and differentiated by the medical causes of disfiguring conditions. Significance was taken as having ‘visibility’, ‘extent’ and ‘location’ dimensions.
The research has reached the following conclusions:
- 542,000 (or one in 111) people in the UK have a significant disfigurement to the face.
- 92,000 have congenital or birth conditions like birthmarks, cleft lips/palates.
- 66,000 have disfigurements from accidents such as burns and facial scars.
- 40,000 have cancer-related disfigurements, from surgery for skin cancer.
- 100,000 have disfigurements from facial paralysis including from stroke.
- 220,000 have disfigurements related to skin conditions like psoriasis, vitiligo and acne.
- 1,345,000 (or one in 44) people have significant disfigurement to their face and body.
- 415,500 people are expected to acquire a significant facial disfigurement in the period of a year, some conditions being transient, some life-threatening.
Notes
* It is difficult to define a ‘disfigurement’ precisely. Not everyone would describe their scar, facial marking, birthmark or other condition that affects their appearance as a 'disfigurement'. It is well-recognised in the psychological research literature that the severity of a disfigurement does not correlate with the amount of distress experienced. What may appear ‘minor’ to some people, can still affect a person's self-esteem and self-confidence, especially if it appears in the communications triangle (eyes, nose and mouth area). This is the area where people focus their gaze and attention. Disfigurements that are not always visible (i.e. can be hidden by clothing) can pose psychological problems.
** Incidence is defined as the proportion of new cases of a 'disorder' in a population in a specified time interval. Prevalence is defined as the proportion or number of people who have a given condition in a population at a specified point in time.
