Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 May 8;21(1):186.
doi: 10.1186/s12883-021-02188-7.

Risk factors related balance disorder for patients with dizziness/vertigo

Zhentang Cao #  1   2   3 , Cuiting Zhu #  1   2   3 , Yanan Zhou  1   2   3 , Yan Wang  1   2   3 , Meimei Chen  1   2   3 , Yi Ju  4   5   6 , Xingquan Zhao  7   8   9   10
Affiliations

Risk factors related balance disorder for patients with dizziness/vertigo

Zhentang Cao et al. BMC Neurol. .

Abstract

Background: When dizziness/vertigo patients presented with balance disorder, it will bring severe morbidity. There is currently lack of research to explore risk factor related balance disorder in dizziness patients, especially in those who walk independently.

Aim: To investigate risk factors related balance disorder in dizziness/vertigo patients who walk independently.

Methods: Medical data of 1002 dizziness/vertigo patients registered in vertigo/balance disorder registration database were reviewed. The demographic data, medical history, and risk factors for atherosclerosis (AS) were collected. Enrolled dizziness/vertigo patients could walk independently, completed Romberg test, videonystagmography (VNG), and limits of stability (LOS). The subjective imbalance was patient complained of postural symptom when performing Romberg test. Multivariable logistic regression analyzed risk factors related balance disorder. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve evaluated the utility of regression model.

Results: Five hundred fifty-three dizziness/vertigo patients who walk independently were included in the final analysis. According to LOS, patients were divided into 334 (60%) normal balance and 219 (40%) balance disorder. Compared with normal balance, patients with balance disorder were older (P = 0.045) and had more risk factors for AS (P<0.0001). The regression showed that risk factors for AS (OR 1.494, 95% CI 1.198-1.863), subjective imbalance (OR 4.835, 95% CI 3.047-7.673), and abnormality of optokinetic nystagmus (OR 8.308, 95% CI 1.576-43.789) were related to balance disorder. The sensitivity and specificity of model were 71 and 63% (P<0.0001). The area under the curve (AUC) was 0.721.

Conclusions: Risk factors for AS, subjective imbalance, and abnormality of optokinetic nystagmus were predictors for balance disorder in patients with dizziness/vertigo who walk independently.

Keywords: Atherosclerosis; Balance; Dizziness; Fall; Nystagmus; Vertigo.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flowchart of this study
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
The distribution of number of risk factors for atherosclerosis between normal balance and balance disorder groups
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
ROC curve for the diagnosis of balance disorder for dizziness/vertigo patients who walk independently
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Brandt T, Dieterich M. The dizzy patient: don't forget disorders of the central vestibular system. Nat Rev Neurol. 2017;13(6):352–362. doi: 10.1038/nrneurol.2017.58. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Kroenke K, Jackson JL. Outcome in general medical patients presenting with common symptoms: a prospective study with a 2-week and a 3-month follow-up. Fam Pract. 1998;15(5):398–403. doi: 10.1093/fampra/15.5.398. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Newman-Toker DE, Cannon LM, Stofferahn ME, Rothman RE, Hsieh YH, Zee DS. Imprecision in patient reports of dizziness symptom quality: a cross-sectional study conducted in an acute care setting. Mayo Clin Proc. 2007;82(11):1329–1340. doi: 10.4065/82.11.1329. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Murdin L, Schilder AG. Epidemiology of balance symptoms and disorders in the community: a systematic review. Otol Neurotol. 2015;36(3):387–392. doi: 10.1097/MAO.0000000000000691. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Jönsson R, Sixt E, Landahl S, Rosenhall U. Prevalence of dizziness and vertigo in an urban elderly population. J Vestib Res. 2004;14(1):47–52. - PubMed