Epidemiology of Balance and Dizziness Problems in United States Adults: Results from the 2014 National Health Interview Survey

Details

• Personal Author:
  Cohen H ; Della Santina CC ; Dobie RA ; Flamme, Gregory A. ; Hoffman HJ ; Hogan AE ; Li C-M ; Losonczy KG ; Themann, Christa L.
• Description:
  Objective: Estimate prevalence and risk factors for balance and dizziness problems (BDP). Methods: We analyzed data from the 2014 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), a nationally-representative health interview survey of 36,697 adults, aged 18+ years. Covariables were NHIS questions on hearing (self-reported difficulty, Gallaudet hearing scale, noise exposures, and tinnitus), health (arthritis, asthma, cancer, severe headaches/migraine, sinusitis, stroke), and limitations (cannot stand 2 hours). BDP was classified based on: "During the past 12 months, have you had a problem with dizziness, light-headedness, feeling as if you are going to pass out or faint, unsteadiness or imbalance?" We examined associations between BDP and socio-demographic, hearing, health, and functional status variables using multivariable logistic models. Results: BDP prevalence was 14.8% (35.4 million), increasing from 11.7%, 15.8%, 19.7%, to 25.8% for adults 18-44, 45-64, 65-84, and 85+ years, respectively. Factors associated with BDP: female sex (odds ratio [OR]=1.57, 95% confidence interval [CI]:1.42-1.73), poverty-level income (OR=1.42;CI:1.20-1.68), any hearing difficulty (OR=1.34;CI:1.17-1.55), firearms noise (OR=1.29;- CI:1.15-1.43), sinusitis (OR=1.36;CI:1.19-1.55), cancer diagnosis (OR=1.54;CI:1.32-1.81), joint pain/ aches (OR=1.76;CI:1.59-1.95), cannot stand 2 hours (OR=1.96;CI:1.70-2.27); ever had stroke (OR=1.96;- CI:1.54-2.49), tinnitus problem (OR=2.92;CI:2.42-3.53), and severe headaches/migraine (OR=2.97;- CI:2.61-3.37). Specific hearing loss etiologies (due to medications/drugs, sudden onset, Meniere's, otosclerosis, ear injury-head/neck trauma) were associated with BDP. There was no association between duration of hearing loss and BDP. Conclusion: BDP prevalence ranged from substantial for young adults to very common for the oldest. The strongest associations were with severe headaches/migraine and tinnitus, while other hearing and health conditions were also important. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Age Factors Aging Epidemiology Hearing Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Age Factors Ear Disorders Hearing Level Tinnitus
• ISSN:
  0742-3152
• Publisher:
  Association for Research in Otolaryngology
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  Maryland ; Michigan ; Ohio ; Oregon ; OSHA Region 10 ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 5 ; OSHA Region 6 ; Texas
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DART - Division of Applied Research and Technology
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  40
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20060908
• Citation:
  Abstr Midwinter Res Meet Assoc Res Otolaryngol 2017 Feb; 40:635
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2017
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  Abstracts of the 40th Midwinter Research Meeting of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology, Febuary 11-15, 2017, Baltimore, Maryland
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:c5d1fb81136c850291078999bc4023d20972f57d66bebb6c17a74739daa8d4297662f4b7ea88085e98778bbdbce15f427b42bb92e2ba7c36183155f59157a4dc
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/224673/cdc_224673_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 284.38 KB ]