Anxiety and Depression in Adults With Vestibular Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis

Summary & key facts

This meta-analysis combined 85 studies with 764,403 adults to estimate how common anxiety and depression are in people with vestibular disorders. It found higher rates of anxiety (31.4% vs. 8.3%) and depression (28.3% vs. 4.7%) in people with vestibular problems than in controls. The pooled relative risks were higher for both anxiety (RR = 1.50, 95% CI 1.1–2.0) and depression (RR = 2.9, 95% CI 1.8–4.4). Rates varied by specific vestibular condition (for example, Meniere's disease and vestibular migraine had especially high rates). The review also found that episodic vestibular disorders showed higher prevalence than a single-event disorder (vestibular neuritis), and that worse dizziness-rela

Key facts:

• The review included 85 studies and a total of 764,403 adults.
• Overall anxiety was reported in 31.4% of people with vestibular disorders versus 8.3% of controls.
• Overall depression was reported in 28.3% of people with vestibular disorders versus 4.7% of controls.
• Relative risk for anxiety in vestibular patients versus controls was 1.50 (95% CI 1.1–2.0).
• Relative risk for depression in vestibular patients versus controls was 2.9 (95% CI 1.8–4.4).
• By disorder, reported anxiety and depression rates were: benign paroxysmal positional vertigo 30.6% and 23.6%; Meniere's disease 47.0% and 43.1%; vestibular migraine 46.5% and 35.7%; vestibular neuritis 19.4% and 20.7% (anxiety %, depressio
• Patients with unspecified peripheral vestibular disorders had anxiety 12.1% and depression 13.2%, both higher than control groups in the studies.
• A meta-regression found that higher scores on the Dizziness Handicap Inventory (a measure of how much dizziness affects daily life) were significantly associated with higher scores on the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (measures of a

Abstract

This meta-analysis offers the most precise prevalence and relative risk estimates of anxiety and depressive disorders in vestibular illness. The greater risk in episodic versus single-event vestibular disorders may inform the understanding of vestibular-psychiatric comorbidity mechanisms.

Topics

Hearing, Cochlea, Tinnitus, Genetics Ocular Surface and Contact Lens Vestibular and auditory disorders

Categories

Life Sciences Neurology Neuroscience

Tags

Agoraphobia Anxiety Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo Depression (economics) Economics Internal medicine Macroeconomics Medicine Meta-analysis Panic Pediatrics Psychiatry Surgery Vertigo