A longitudinal study of symptoms, anxiety and subjective well-being in patients with vertigo.

In a prospective longitudinal study of the relationship between symptoms and anxiety in people with vertigo, 101 patients were evaluated on two occasions separated by a 7 month interval. At Time 1 the age, gender, vertigo type, duration of illness, medication, and audiovestibular test results of patients were recorded, and they completed questionnaires assessing handicap, emotional distress, predisposition to anxiety, and symptoms indicative of vertigo and of somatic anxiety. These questionnaires were re-administered at Time 2, and patients also indicated whether their vertigo was more or less severe than at Time 1. Although 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 longitudinal predictors of perceived change in vertigo severity over the 7 month period.