title: Screening for Menière's disease in the general population - the needle in the haystack.
abstract: CONCLUSIONS
  Based on clinical history alone, 98.4% of the population with vestibular vertigo do not qualify for a diagnosis of Menière's disease (MD). Although frequent in dizziness clinics, MD is rare in the general population.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To narrow down the prevalence of MD in the general population.
  
  
  METHODS
  A representative sample adult population sample (n=4869) was screened for moderate or severe dizziness/vertigo. Subsequently, 1003 participants completed a validated neurotologic telephone interview on vestibular vertigo (VV). Prevalence of MD was determined by stepwise application of clinical criteria according to the AAO (1995): (1) at least two vertigo attacks of > or =20 min duration, (2) unilateral hearing loss, and (3) accompanying cochlear symptoms.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Lifetime prevalence of VV was 7.4%. Of 243 participants with VV, 51 (21%) had recurrent vertigo lasting > or =20 min. Of these, nine reported unilateral hearing loss, and four had accompanying cochlear symptoms (1.6% of VV patients, population prevalence 0.12%).
authors.affiliation: Neurologische Klinik, Charité, Berlin, Germany. andre.radtke@charite.de
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Radtke
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: von Brevern
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Feldmann
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lezius
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ziese
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lempert
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Neuhauser
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D046088:Hearing Loss, Unilateral / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D008487:Medical History Taking; D008575:Meniere Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D014012:Tinnitus / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology