Psychiatric disorders in patients with intractable dizziness in the department of otolaryngology.

OBJECTIVE

Vertigo and dizziness are often not fully explained by organic illnesses, but instead may be related to psychiatric disorders. It is important to determine the types of psychiatric comorbidities that are frequent in cases of intractable dizziness.

METHOD

The study subjects were 90 patients who had experienced intractable dizziness for more than three months and were referred to a psychiatrist when their symptoms could not be fully explained based on their physical illness. The patients' final diagnosis and questionnaire (DHI,SDS and STAI) scores were evaluated.

RESULTS

Seventy percent (63/90) of patients with intractable dizziness had been diagnosed as having psychiatric conditions by the study psychiatrists. The most common diagnosis was unspecified depressive disorder.

CONCLUSIONS

Psychiatric comorbidities seem to be more prevalent in certain subgroups of organic dizziness. We found a higher rate of depressive disorders in the sequelae of sudden deafness and migraine-related dizziness.