Rheumatoid arthritis is associated with chronic dizziness, recurrent falls, and chronic imbalance: results from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic systemic inflammatory disease that leads to various systemic complications. This study aims to assess the association between RA and chronic dizziness, recurrent falls, and chronic imbalance in the Korean adult population. Data from 4,754 (weighted n = 17,694,932) individuals aged 40 years or older in the 2019–2020 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were analyzed. A questionnaire including information on chronic dizziness, recurrent falls, demographic variables, and laboratory test data was evaluated. RA was defined based on patient-reported physician diagnoses. Factors potentially associated with chronic dizziness, recurrent falls, and chronic imbalance were examined. The mean age was 56.7 years. The weighted prevalence of RA was 1.9%. In patients with RA, the rates of chronic dizziness (10.1% vs. 3.4%, p = 0.005), recurrent falls (3.9% vs. 0.4%, p < 0.001), and chronic imbalance (5.1% vs. 1.0%, p < 0.001) were significantly higher than in those without RA. In multivariable analysis, RA (OR 2.65, 95% CI 1.10–6.34, p = 0.030) was associated with an increased risk of chronic dizziness, alongside females, a body mass index under 25, hearing impairment, stroke, and stress. Additionally, females, hearing impairment, and RA (OR 8.29, 95% CI 2.79–24.67, p < 0.001) were associated with an increased risk of recurrent falls. For chronic imbalance, RA (OR 3.73, 95% CI 1.22–9.6, p = 0.020) was significantly associated with chronic imbalance, alongside being female, smoking, and hearing impairment. RA was found to be independently associated with an increased risk of chronic dizziness, recurrent falls, and chronic imbalance.