Objective:

The incidence of dizziness and vertigo is increasing with age, and symptoms lead to significant limitations in daily living and to disability in older patients.

Method:

Data of 1,752 patients with chronic dizziness/vertigo subjected to a tertiary care, specialized interdisciplinary vertigo center were analyzed. Age, gender, symptoms, medical diagnosis, and Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI) were collected based on a questionnaire and analysis of associated patient records. The patients were assigned to 3 age groups (< 41, 41-65, and > 65 years).

Results:

33.7% of the patients were older than 65 years. Frequency of symptoms and DHI score increased with age. Older patients reported less frequently about coexisting symptoms such as nausea, headache, tinnitus, ear pressure, and visual impairment. Multisensory deficit, central vertigo, bilateral vestibulopathy, and benign paroxysmal positional vertigo were diagnosed increasingly with age, while persistent postural–perceptual dizziness and vestibular migraine were diagnosed in the younger age groups.

Conclusion:

In the diagnostic work-up of older patients age-specific characteristics of dizziness/vertigo have to be considered. The older patient generally is more impaired by the symptoms but possibly will not report typical diagnosis-defining symptoms.

中文翻译：

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慢性头晕眩晕患者的年龄相关特征

客观的：

头晕和眩晕的发病率随着年龄的增长而增加，并且症状导致日常生活严重受限和老年患者的残疾。

方法：

分析了 1,752 名慢性头晕/眩晕患者的数据，这些患者接受了三级护理、专业的跨学科眩晕中心。根据问卷和相关患者记录的分析收集年龄、性别、症状、医学诊断和头晕障碍清单 (DHI)。患者被分配到 3 个年龄组（< 41、41-65 和 > 65 岁）。

结果：

33.7% 的患者年龄超过 65 岁。症状的频率和 DHI 评分随着年龄的增长而增加。老年患者报告的并存症状较少，如恶心、头痛、耳鸣、耳压和视力障碍。随着年龄的增长，多感觉障碍、中枢性眩晕、双侧前庭病和良性阵发性位置性眩晕的诊断率越来越高，而持续性体位-知觉性头晕和前庭偏头痛则在较年轻的年龄组中被诊断出来。

结论：

在老年患者的诊断检查中，必须考虑头晕/眩晕的年龄特异性特征。老年患者通常受症状影响更大，但可能不会报告典型的诊断定义症状。