Anxiety and Depression in Patients With Vestibular Disorders

Sunday, September 29, 2024

1:48 PM – 1:54 PM EDT

Location: MBCC, 231

Disclosure(s):

Bao Y. Sciscent, BS:

faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

Marc D. Polanik, MD:

faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

Hanel W. Eberly, BS:

faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

Introduction: Vestibular dysfunction can lead to dizziness and vertigo, which for some can be debilitating and diminish quality of life. There exists a reciprocal association between vestibular function and emotional processing, with some studies suggesting that damage to the vestibular system is a risk factor in the development of mood disorders. However, research is mostly limited to small retrospective studies. This study aims to examine the rates of depression and anxiety in patients with vestibular disorders using a large patient database.

Methods: TriNetX, a federated de-identified database, was retrospectively queried to identify adults (>18 years of age) with vestibular disorders. Patients with benign or malignant brain tumors were excluded. The rates of anxiety and depression in patients with vestibular disorders (cohort 1) were compared to patients without vestibular disorders (cohort 2) within 5 years of the index event, which was set the time of diagnosis of vestibular dysfunction.

Results: After propensity score matching for demographics and common comorbidities, 32,391 patients were identified in each cohort. In both cohorts, the average age was 58 years old and females made up 66% of each cohort. Patients with vestibular disorders were more likely to have depression [%; RR (95% CI), p-value] [26.1% vs. 22.5%, 1.16 (1.13-1.19), p< 0.0001] and anxiety [27.8% vs. 23.5%, 1.18 (1.15-1.22), p< 0.0001] compared to the general population. Similarly, a higher rate of antidepressant use was seen in patients with vestibular disorders [39.7% vs. 32.3%, 1.23 (1.21-1.26), p< 0.0001].
On a separate analysis of patients with vestibular migraines, 644 patients with vestibular migraines were compared to a matched cohort of patients without vestibular migraines. The rates of depression [33.9% vs. 22.4%, 1.51 (1.27-1.81), p< 0.0001] and anxiety [40.1% vs. 24.1%, 1.67 (1.41-1.97), p< 0.0001] were even more prominent in patients with vestibular migraines.

Conclusions: Patients with vestibular disorders have a higher rate of depression and anxiety compared to the general population.

Presenting Author(s)

Bao Y. Sciscent, BS

Medical Student
Department of Otolaryngology- Head and Neck Surgery, Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center
Hershey, PA, United States

Disclosure(s):
faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

Co-Author(s)

MP

Marc D. Polanik, MD

Resident Physician
Department of Otolaryngology- Head and Neck Surgery, Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center
Hummelstown, PA, United States

Disclosure(s):
faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.
F. Jeffrey Lorenz, MD

Resident
Penn State Health Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery
Hummelstown, Pennsylvania, United States

Disclosure information not submitted.
HE

Hanel W. Eberly, BS

Medical Student
Department of Otolaryngology- Head and Neck Surgery, Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center
Fairfield, CT, United States

Disclosure(s):
faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

Senior Author(s)

Mark E. Whitaker, MD

Assistant Professor
Department of Otolaryngology- Head and Neck Surgery, Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center
Hershey, PA, United States

Disclosure information not submitted.