Table 5.

Causes of Dizziness in 417 Elderly Patients in Primary Care (Panel Diagnosis)

	Major Cause		Minor Cause		Totala
Characteristic	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
Contributing causes
Adverse drug effect	10	2	96	23	106	25
Cardiovascular disease (including cerebrovascular disease)	237	57	66	16	303	73
Locomotor disease	15	4	43	10	58	14
Metabolic or endocrine conditions	3	1	3	1	6	1
Neurological disease (excluding cerebrovascular disease)	12	3	36	9	48	12
Psychiatric illness	41	10	40	10	81	19
Peripheral vestibular disease	60	14	40	10	100	24
Impaired vision	2	0	3	1	5	1
Other causes	3	1	4	1	7	2
Unclear	34	8	–	–	34	8
Total	417	100	331	79	748	179
Contributing causes per patient
1	126	30
2	191	46
3	59	14
4	6	1
5	1	0
Unclear	34	8
Total	417	100

Note: Data for each patient were independently reviewed by a family physician, a geriatrician, and a nursing home doctor.

^a Adds up to more than 100%, because more than 1 cause of dizziness per patient is possible.