[Relationship between health-related quality of life and disability in women with peripheral vertigo].
OBJECTIVE
To study the relationship between disability and health-related quality of life in women with vertigo of peripheral origin.


METHODS
Cross-sectional study in 26 women diagnosed with vertigo, classified by type of peripheral vestibular disturbance: benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), vestibular neuritis, Ménière's disease, post-trauma and others. In a self-report interview, a 12-item short-form (SF-12) health survey on quality of life was applied; disability was assessed with the questionnaire "Dizziness Handicap Inventory" (DHI). Measures of central tendency, dispersion for the domains and types of vestibular disturbance were used and internal DHI consistency and inter-scale correlation were calculated.


RESULTS
Patients in the vestibular neuritis and Ménière groups displayed a higher level of disability according to the DHI functional (29.5+/-5.5 vs. 27.0+/-8.8) and physical domains (23.0+/-4.1 vs. 21.5+/-6.6). Based on the SF-12 domains, greater deterioration in quality of life was perceived in physical (22.9+/-3.9 vs. 22.6+/-4.6) and emotional performance (15.4+/-5.0 vs. 11.3+/-6.0), respectively. Acceptable and significant inverse correlations were found between the physical component summary (PCS-12) of the SF-12 and the physical, emotional and functional aspects of the DHI questionnaire (r=-0.51 to -0.78, p<0.01). Internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha index) of the DHI questionnaire was appropriate for the sample.


CONCLUSIONS
The DHI and the SF-12 are useful, practical and valid instruments for assessing the impact of dizziness on the quality of life of patients with this symptom.
Vélez León
Vanessa
V
Universidad del Valle, Escuela de Rehabilitación Humana, Cali, Colombia.
Lucero Gutiérrez
Vanessa
V
Escobar Hurtado
Celia
C
Ramirez-Velez
Robinson
R
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life; D014717:Vertigo / Q000175:diagnosis; D055815:Young Adult