The Correlation between Dizziness and Anxiety, Depression, and Type D Personality in Patients with Chronic Dizziness

Lee, Jun Hyeok; Choi, Yoon Seok; Song, Si Youn; Kim, Yong Dae; Bae, Chang Hoon

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
Dizziness often takes a chronic course and can influence the emotion of life. Dizziness is associated with psychological factors such as anxiety and depression. Type D personality is also related to the negative emotions including anxiety and depression. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the correlation between chronic dizziness and anxiety/depression/type D personality.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Chronic dizziness was defined when the dizziness had persisted more than three months. We analyzed the data of 72 patients with chronic dizziness between November 2012 and August 2014. The patients with chronic dizziness were asked to complete a survey regarding demographic data, history of dizziness, Beck depression inventory-II (BDI-II), Hamilton anxiety scale (HAM-A), type D personality scale 14 (DS-14), and dizziness handicap inventory (DHI).
RESULTS
The patients with chronic dizziness had a trend of higher frequency of type D personality (52.7%) compared to general population. In the patients with chronic dizziness, there was significant positive correlation between DHI score and BDI-II, HAM-A, and DS-14 score.
CONCLUSION
These results suggest that the patients with chronic dizziness, compared to the general population, have a trend of higher frequency of type D personality. There is significant positive correlation between chronic dizziness and anxiety/depression/type D personality.