Chronic subjective dizziness
Abstract
CONCLUSION: Chronic subjective dizziness (CSD) is frequent and affects twice as many women as men. Anxiety is a strong predisposing factor. The pathophysiologic concept of this disorder assumes that balance function and emotion share common neurologic pathways, which might explain that the balance disorder can provoke fear and vice versa, giving rise to a problem in perception of space and motion. In anxious patients this can turn into a space and motion phobia, with avoidance behaviour. OBJECTIVE: CSD is a diagnosis based on the hypothesis of an interaction between the vestibular system and the psychiatric sphere. Patients complain of chronic imbalance, worsened by visual motion stimulation, and frequently suffer from anxiety. Vestibular examination reveals no anomalies. We evaluated the incidence and characteristics of CSD in patients referred to our neuro-otology centre (tertiary hospital outpatient clinic). SUBJECTS AND METHODS: This was a retrospective study of 1552 consecutive patients presenting with vertigo. CSD was diagnosed in 164 patients (female:male=111:53). RESULTS: CSD represents 10.6% of the dizzy patients in our clinic. Psychiatric disorder, mainly anxiety, was found in 79.3% of the cases. Other frequently associated factors were fear of heights and former vestibular lesion (healed). In all, 79.0% of the patients with CSD had poor balance performance on dynamic posturography testing.
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Studies of PPV, VV, SMD, and CSD identified a number of functional alterations in vestibular and balance mechanisms associated with these clinical entities.
“Studies of PPV, VV, SMD, and CSD identified a number of functional alterations in vestibular and balance mechanisms [33, 37, 46, 59, 67, 68, 71, 88, 98] associated with these clinical entities.”
One study of patients with CSD demonstrated similar results.
“One study of patients with CSD demonstrated similar results [59].”
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- Authors
- Ödman, >., & Maire, R.
- Affiliations
- Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CH)
- Corresponding author
- Ödman, >Micaela
- Venue
- Acta Oto-Laryngologica
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2008-01
- Volume
- 128
- Issue
- 10
- Pages
- 1085-1088
- ISSN
- 0001-6489 (ISSN-L)
- 1651-2251
- OpenAlex
- W2142085332
- Cited by
- 62
- References
- 15
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 2 · 2013: 1 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 1.09
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Acta Oto-Laryngologica (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- IRIS (submittedVersion)
- SERVAL (Université de Lausanne) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Neurology › Vestibular and auditory disorders
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Surgery › Cardiovascular Syncope and Autonomic Disorders
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation › Balance, Gait, and Falls Prevention
- Keywords
- anxiety, balance function, vertigo, incidence, sex differences, dynamic posturography, fear of heights, vestibular lesions
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Anxiety Disorders, Chronic Disease, Depression, Dizziness, Postural Balance, Fear, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Motion Sickness, Retrospective Studies, Vestibular Function Tests, Vestibular Diseases, Young Adult
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