Increased Risk of Injury Following a Diagnosis of Vertigo: A Population‐based Study

Abstract

Background This study aimed to evaluate whether peripheral vestibular disorders (PVD) are associated with subsequent injury. Methods Data for this follow‐up study were retrieved from the Taiwan's National Health Insurance (NHI) Dataset. A total of 251,355 patients with newly diagnosed PVD during January 2015 to December 2016 was identified as the study cohort, the diagnosis date being their index date. Comparison patients were identified by propensity score‐matching (one per case, n = 251,355 controls) from the remaining NHI beneficiaries in 2015 with their index date being the date of their first health service claim in 2015. We tracked each subject's claims history for 1 year from the index date to identify those who suffered an injury. Cox proportional hazards regressions were performed to calculate the injury hazard ratio of cases versus controls. Results The incidence of injury during 1‐year follow‐up was 128.6 (95% CI = 127.6–129.5) per 1,000 person‐years, 158.2 (95% CI = 156.8–159.6) and 97.5 (95% CI = 96.3–98.7) among the study and comparison cohorts, respectively. After adjusting for demographic variables, the hazard ratio (HR) for injury during 1‐year was 1.663 (95% CI: 1.636–1.690) for cases relative to controls. Conclusions Patients with PVD were at a higher risk for a wide range of injuries, most of all, joint dislocation and sprain. Level of Evidence 3 Laryngoscope, 131:1633–1638, 2021

Increased Risk of Injury in Ménière's Disease and Effects of Treatment: Population‐Based Retrospective Cohort Study

“…Our results are in accordance with the findings of previous studies that MD is associated with certain causes of physical injuries, particularly falls 34,36,37 . The higher incidence of falls among patients with MD may be explained by the older age of such patients 21 and the occurrence of MD‐related drop attacks 36,38,39 .…”

“…In 2021, a population‐based study 34 revealed that the risk of various fall‐related injuries was 1.67 times higher in patients with a diagnosed PVD than in controls. Yet, one of the inclusion criteria of this study was a single first‐time diagnosis of a PVD, which may evolve into a more specific form of a vestibular disorder.…”

“…Our results are in accordance with the findings of previous studies that MD is associated with certain causes of physical injuries, particularly falls. 34,36,37 The higher incidence of falls among patients with MD may be explained by the older age of such patients 21 and the occurrence of MD-related drop attacks. 36,38,39 The incidence of drop attacks is higher among patients with MD who are .65 years old than among younger patients with MD, particularly those with newly diagnosed MD.…”

Increased prevalence of peripheral vestibular disorder among patients with Fabry disease

“…Most cases of vertigo, about 80%, are caused by local pathology of the ear and vestibular organs [3]. Peripheral vestibular disorders (PVD) affect about 1.2-6.5% of the total population causing considerable economic loss due to missed workdays or early retirement [4], as well as causing personal life disruptions, anxiety, social phobias, traffic accidents, increased risk of injuries [5], and a high risk of reoccurrence of vertigo [6]. Vertigo can be attributed to inner ear pathology, which disrupts the coordinated sensory inputs from the visual, vestibular, and proprioceptive systems responsible for balance and spatial orientation.…”