Dizziness Handicap Inventory in Clinical Evaluation of Dizzy Patients

Ewa Zamyslowska-Szmytke, Piotr Politanski and Magdalena Jozefowicz-Korczynska
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Ewa Zamyslowska-Szmytke: Balance Disorders Unit, Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, 91-348 Lodz, Poland
Piotr Politanski: Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, 91-348 Lodz, Poland
Magdalena Jozefowicz-Korczynska: Balance Disorders Unit, Department of Otolaryngology, Medical University of Lodz, 90-237 Lodz, Poland

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 5, 1-12

Abstract: (1) Objectives: The evaluation of dizzy patients is difficult due to nonspecific symptoms that require a multi-specialist approach. The Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI) is widely used in the assessment of dizziness-related disability, but its clinical efficacy needs further expansion. The aim of this study was to identify the subscales of DHI that may correlate with some vestibular or nonvestibular dysfunctions. (2) Material and methods: This observational study included 343 dizzy patients with one of the following clinical conditions: Vestibular impairment noncompensated or compensated, central or bilateral, benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), migraine and psychogenic dizziness. Principal component analysis was used to examine the factorial structure of the questionnaire. (3) Results: The DHI questionnaire total scoring and its vestibular subscale distinguished between patients with compensated and uncompensated vestibular dysfunction with positive predictive values of 76% and 79%, respectively. The DHI items composing the F3 (positional) subscale revealed the highest scoring in the BPPV group with 75% sensitivity and 92% negative predictive value (NPV) in reference to Dix–Hallpike tests. The DHI total score and the subscales scores correlated with anxiety-depression, and the highest correlation coefficients were calculated for vestibular (F2 0.56) and anxiety (F5 0.51) subscales. (4) Conclusions: Our analysis revealed that the DHI vestibular subscale distinguishes between patients with compensated and uncompensated vestibular dysfunction. The positional subscale showed the highest scoring in the BPPV group with high sensitivity and low specificity of the test. The DHI is highly correlated with patients’ psychological status.

Keywords: DHI; vertigo; psychogenic dizziness; migraine; positional vertigo; vestibular dysfunction (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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