Perceived Impairment of Dizziness on Daily-Living Activities

Introduction: Dizziness and vertigo have been reported to influence the psychological well being and functionality, especially for the elderly. No reports on the perceived impairment have been originated from community-dwelling subjects in Brazil.

Objective: This study aims to estimate the perceived impairment on daily-living activities as a consequence of dizziness.

Methods: A total of 312 subjects were interviewed on the central streets of Rio de Janeiro, RJ (156) and Rio Branco, AC (156), using a specific questionnaire with direct questions on complaints of dizziness and its features. A 10-point Likert scale was used to rate the subjective perception of impairment on daily-living activities. General linear models were used to investigate predictors of perceived impairment.

Results: Overall 170 male and 142 female subjects, aged 16 to 85 years (median, 36 years) were interviewed. Life prevalence of dizziness and vertigo were 64.4 and 32.3%, respectively. Median score for perceived impairment on daily-living activities was 5.0 (3.0; 8.0) for the whole sample, and 8.0 (3.5; 9.5) for the elderly (> 60 years). Being female (p = 0.004), increasing age (p = 0.006) and nonrotational dizziness (p < 0.001) were independent predictors of greater impairment.

Conclusion: The perceived impact of dizziness on daily-living activities was higher in females, elders, and nonvertigo subjects.

Keywords: dizziness, vertigo, Brazil, daily-living activities.