Self-Reported Dizziness Handicap is Related to Functional Capacity in People with Vestibular Hypofunction

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Individuals with vestibular hypofunction (VH) report low levels of physical activity (PA), corresponding with restrictions when performing activities of daily living. However, a clear association between physical function and self-reported dizziness handicap and measures of vestibular function has not been established. Our purpose is to investigate whether functional aerobic capacity and PA are related to dizziness handicap and objective assessments of the vestibulo-ocular reflex in participants with VH. METHODS: A total of 36 participants (14 males, 22 females; 70.11 ± 12.2 years) with evidence of VH of peripheral origin were included. Self-reported measures of dizziness handicap and impairment included the Dizziness Handicap Inventory and Visual Analogue Scale of dizziness. Objective measures included the Video Head Impulse Test and computerized Dynamic Visual Acuity. Outcomes of interest included the 2-minute walk test, average daily steps, light PA, and moderate-to-vigorous PA. Multiple linear regression models were built, controlling for age and sex, and adjusted using the Benjamini-Hochberg. Significance was set at alpha = 0.05. RESULTS: Self-reported measures of dizziness handicap and impairment were significantly associated with the 2-minute walk test (P ≤ 0.05). No significant associations between PA and the independent variables were found. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: Greater dizziness handicap was associated with lower functional aerobic capacity when adjusting for age and sex. Interestingly, this relation was not observed when examining objective measures of vestibular function. After adjusting for age and sex, age was associated with reduced moderate-to-vigorous PA time, whereas the vestibular-related measures were not.