Skip to main content
PMC home page
The British Journal of General Practice logoLink to The British Journal of General Practice
. 1998 Apr;48(429):1131–1135.

Prevalence and presentation of dizziness in a general practice community sample of working age people.

L Yardley 1, N Owen 1, I Nazareth 1, L Luxon 1
PMCID: PMC1410052  PMID: 9667086

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Dizziness is known to be a common, handicapping condition in the elderly, and a strong association between dizziness and anxiety disorders has been observed in hospital samples. However, little is known about the prevalence of dizziness among people of working age in the community and its implications for psychosocial functioning and general practice consultation and treatment. AIM: To determine the prevalence of dizziness, giddiness, vertigo, and unsteadiness, and associations with disability and handicap, symptoms of panic and agoraphobia, and general practice consultation and treatment. METHOD: Postal questionnaires were completed by 2064 people aged 18-64 years randomly sampled from the patient lists of four London practices. Validated survey items were used to assess symptoms, panic and agoraphobia, levels of occupational disability and handicap, and general practice consultation and treatment. RESULTS: More than one in five responders (n = 480) had experienced dizziness during the past month; nearly half of these (n = 225) reported some degree of handicap and 30% had been dizzy for more than five years. Almost half (n = 221) of those with dizziness also reported anxiety and/or avoidance behaviour. Multiple physical and psychological symptoms were associated with higher levels of handicap. Only one in four of the 225 dizzy responders reporting some degree of handicap had received any form of treatment. CONCLUSION: Dizziness is a common, chronic, and often untreated symptom in people aged 18-65 years, associated with extensive handicap and psychological morbidity.

Full text

PDF
1131

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Clark D. B., Hirsch B. E., Smith M. G., Furman J. M., Jacob R. G. Panic in otolaryngology patients presenting with dizziness or hearing loss. Am J Psychiatry. 1994 Aug;151(8):1223–1225. doi: 10.1176/ajp.151.8.1223. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Clark M. R., Sullivan M. D., Fischl M., Katon W. J., Russo J. E., Dobie R. A., Voorhees R. Symptoms as a clue to otologic and psychiatric diagnosis in patients with dizziness. J Psychosom Res. 1994 Jul;38(5):461–470. doi: 10.1016/0022-3999(94)90107-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Colledge N. R., Barr-Hamilton R. M., Lewis S. J., Sellar R. J., Wilson J. A. Evaluation of investigations to diagnose the cause of dizziness in elderly people: a community based controlled study. BMJ. 1996 Sep 28;313(7060):788–792. doi: 10.1136/bmj.313.7060.788. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Cooper C. W. Vestibular neuronitis: a review of a common cause of vertigo in general practice. Br J Gen Pract. 1993 Apr;43(369):164–167. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Eagger S., Luxon L. M., Davies R. A., Coelho A., Ron M. A. Psychiatric morbidity in patients with peripheral vestibular disorder: a clinical and neuro-otological study. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 1992 May;55(5):383–387. doi: 10.1136/jnnp.55.5.383. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Frommberger U. H., Tettenborn B., Buller R., Benkert O. Panic disorder in patients with dizziness. Arch Intern Med. 1994 Mar 14;154(5):590–591. doi: 10.1001/archinte.154.5.590a. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Jacob R. G., Furman J. M., Durrant J. D., Turner S. M. Panic, agoraphobia, and vestibular dysfunction. Am J Psychiatry. 1996 Apr;153(4):503–512. doi: 10.1176/ajp.153.4.503. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Jacob R. G. Panic disorder and the vestibular system. Psychiatr Clin North Am. 1988 Jun;11(2):361–374. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Katsarkas A. Dizziness in aging: a retrospective study of 1194 cases. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 1994 Mar;110(3):296–301. doi: 10.1177/019459989411000306. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Kroenke K., Lucas C. A., Rosenberg M. L., Scherokman B., Herbers J. E., Jr, Wehrle P. A., Boggi J. O. Causes of persistent dizziness. A prospective study of 100 patients in ambulatory care. Ann Intern Med. 1992 Dec 1;117(11):898–904. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-117-11-898. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Marks I. M., Mathews A. M. Brief standard self-rating for phobic patients. Behav Res Ther. 1979;17(3):263–267. doi: 10.1016/0005-7967(79)90041-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Rascol O., Hain T. C., Brefel C., Benazet M., Clanet M., Montastruc J. L. Antivertigo medications and drug-induced vertigo. A pharmacological review. Drugs. 1995 Nov;50(5):777–791. doi: 10.2165/00003495-199550050-00002. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Rudge P., Bronstein A. M. Investigations of disorders of balance. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 1995 Dec;59(6):568–578. doi: 10.1136/jnnp.59.6.568. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Sloane P. D., Dallara J., Roach C., Bailey K. E., Mitchell M., McNutt R. Management of dizziness in primary care. J Am Board Fam Pract. 1994 Jan-Feb;7(1):1–8. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Sloane P. D. Dizziness in primary care. Results from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey. J Fam Pract. 1989 Jul;29(1):33–38. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Vaziri N. D., Kaupke C. J., Barton C. H., Gonzales E. Plasma concentration and urinary excretion of erythropoietin in adult nephrotic syndrome. Am J Med. 1992 Jan;92(1):35–40. doi: 10.1016/0002-9343(92)90012-z. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Yardley L., Beech S., Zander L., Evans T., Weinman J. A randomized controlled trial of exercise therapy for dizziness and vertigo in primary care. Br J Gen Pract. 1998 Apr;48(429):1136–1140. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Yardley L., Britton J., Lear S., Bird J., Luxon L. M. Relationship between balance system function and agoraphobic avoidance. Behav Res Ther. 1995 May;33(4):435–439. doi: 10.1016/0005-7967(94)00060-w. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Yardley L., Luxon L. Treating dizziness with vestibular rehabilitation. BMJ. 1994 May 14;308(6939):1252–1253. doi: 10.1136/bmj.308.6939.1252. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Yardley L., Masson E., Verschuur C., Haacke N., Luxon L. Symptoms, anxiety and handicap in dizzy patients: development of the vertigo symptom scale. J Psychosom Res. 1992 Dec;36(8):731–741. doi: 10.1016/0022-3999(92)90131-k. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from The British Journal of General Practice are provided here courtesy of Royal College of General Practitioners

RESOURCES