A LONGITUDINAL-STUDY OF SYMPTOMS, ANXIETY AND SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING IN PATIENTS WITH VERTIGO

In a prospective longitudinal study of the relationship between sympto ms and anxiety in people with vertigo, 101 patients were evaluated on two occasions separated by a 7 month interval. At Time 1 the age, gend er, vertigo type, duration of illness, medication, and audiovestibular test results of patients were recorded, and they completed questionna ires assessing handicap, emotional distress, predisposition to anxiety , and symptoms indicative of vertigo and of somatic anxiety. These que stionnaires were re-administered at Time 2, and patients also indicate d whether their vertigo was more or less severe than at Time 1. Althou gh vertiginous symptoms at Time 2 were generally mild and intermittent , they were associated with significant handicap. Reported symptoms of somatic anxiety and arousal at Time 1 proved to be the only longitudi nal predictors of perceived change in vertigo severity over the 7 mont h period.