http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6908-7480
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ABSTRACT
Objective: To investigate the associations between dizziness-related disability after mild- moderate Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and personal factors, injury-related factors and post-injury functioning using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) as a framework.
Methods: Baseline assessments for a Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) were obtained for 65 patients (mean age 39.2 years; SD 12.9 years; 70.8% women) who had dizziness and reduced balance 2–6 months after injury. The severity of the brain injury, physical and psychological self-reported symptoms and results from the performance based tests were used as independent variables. The main outcome measure (dependent variable) was the Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI).
Results: Multivariate analyses showed that, the dizziness-related disability was predicted by pre-injury comorbidities (p ≤ 0.05) and was associated with self-reported vertigo symptoms (p < 0.001), reduced performance-based balance (p ≤ 0.05) and psychological distress (p ≤ 0.05). These factors accounted for 62% of the variance in DHI.
Conclusion: Dizziness and balance problems after mild-moderate TBI appear to be complex biopsychosocial phenomena. Assessments linked to the ICF domains of functioning might contribute to a broader understanding of the needs of these patients. Further, prospective clinical studies with non-dizzy control groups are needed to investigate dizziness-related disability after TBI.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank all the patients for their participation, and give special thanks to Are Hugo Pripp (Adjunct Professor in Statistics at Oslo and Akershus University College) for help with the statistical analyses.
Disclosure statement
The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.