The dizziness handicap inventory and its relationship with functional balance performance.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to describe the relation between the Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI) and balance performance measures.


METHODS
Retrospective case series.


METHODS
Outpatient balance clinic in a tertiary referral center.


METHODS
Patients referred with dizziness or imbalance of vestibular and nonvestibular origin.


METHODS
DHI, Romberg with Jendrassik maneuver, standing on foam, tandem Romberg, single-leg stance, the timed up and go test, the Dynamic Gait Index (DGI), tandem gait, and the 10-m walking test.


RESULTS
The mean age of participants (n = 214) was 53.9 years. The mean DHI total score was 35.1, ranging from 0 to 96. Spearman rank correlation coefficients (rS) between DHI and the static balance tests were fair and ranged between -0.42 (p < 0.01) for single-leg stance with eyes closed and -0.51 (p < 0.01) for single-leg stance with eyes open. Only the Romberg test with Jendrassik maneuver correlated weakly (rS = -0.25; p < 0.01) with the DHI. Correlations with the walking tests were moderate, the connection with the DGI being the strongest one (rS = -0.69; p < 0.01). Forty-two percent of the variance in DHI scores in our patients was accounted for by the DGI score (r = 0.417).


CONCLUSIONS
Functional balance tests involving locomotion correlate better with DHI scores when compared with static balance measures. The DGI explains a large component of handicap in dizzy and unsteady patients, which advocates its use in these patients.
Vereeck
Luc
L
Division of Neuro- and Psychomotor Physical Therapy, Department of Health Care Sciences, University College of Antwerp, Merksem, Belgium. l.vereeck@ha.be
Truijen
Steven
S
Wuyts
Floris L
FL
Van de Heyning
Paul H
PH
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002150:Caloric Tests; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D004244:Dizziness / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D005684:Gait; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D004856:Postural Balance / Q000502:physiology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014724:Vestibular Function Tests; D014722:Vestibule, Labyrinth / Q000503:physiopathology; D016138:Walking