Skip to main content

Table 1 Brief description of the included studies

From: Prevalence, aetiologies and prognosis of the symptom dizziness in primary care – a systematic review

Studies

Time of recruitment

Country

Setting

Number of dizzy patients

Mean Age of study sample (range)

Female (%)

Data collection

Inclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria

Answered research questionsb

BEACH 2014 [18]

04/2013 - 03/2014

Australia

959 general practitioners

993

n.r.

n.r.

prospective

all patients contacts ICPC: Reason for encounter vertigo/ dizziness

 

1

Bird 1998 [39]

08/1993 - 071995

Great Britain

3 general practices

503

median 58 (3-99)

n.r.

retrospective

complaining of symptoms allied to dizziness ➔ stratified sample was studied in more detail

patients had seen their GP about the same problem within the past 12 months

1,2

CONTENT 2007 [1]

04/2005 - 12/2006

Germany

17 general practices

607

n.r.

70.8a

prospective

all patients contacts ICPC: Reason for encounter N17 – vertigo/ dizziness

 

1

DNSGP-2 2010 [15]

01/2001 - 12/2001

Netherlands

96 family practices

3990

76.1 (SEM 0.11) (65+)

65.9

prospective

database with presented symptoms recorded as freetext: Dutch synonyms for dizziness

 

1,2

Ekvall 2004 [16]

1998 and 2000

Sweden

2 health care centres (14 GPs)

311

range 12-94

74.9a

retrospective

ICD9/10: 780.4 / R 42 and 386 / H81

 

1

Ekvall 2005 [3]

01/2003 - 12/2003

Sweden

6 primary health care centres

prev: 197 aet: 38

prev: range 65-99 aet: Median 83 (65-94)

prev: 70.1a aet: 65.8a

prev: retrospective aet: prospective

prev: 65 years or older diagnosis R42 (ICD 10) aet: study participants; ICD 10 Code R 42

 

1,2

Fink 2007 [40]

10/1989 - 09/1999

Austria

1 general practitioner

408a

n.r.

n.r.

prospective

all Episodes of Cares: dizziness as reason for encounter

 

1

Garrigues 2008 [41]

11/2003 - 11/2004

Spain

6 primary care centres

191

55.8 (SD 17.6) (range 10+)

68.6

prospective

vertigo crisis (illusion of unequivocal rotary movement)

under 10 years

1

Gerber 1992 [42]

15 months

USA

general internal medicine group practice (4 general internists)

46

range 18+

n.r.

prospective

all physical complaints reported complaint of dizziness

 

1

Hanley 2002 [43]

10/1999 - 03/2000

Ireland

13 general practitioners

70

n.r.

n.r.

prospective

vertigo (do you see the world spin around you as if you had got off a playground roundabout)

 

2

Harding 1980 [44]

n.r.

Colombia, India, Sudan, Philippines

primary health facilities

90

range 16+

n.r.

prospective

reason for encounter of all patients aged 16 or older: dizziness

so seriously ill or required such urgent medical care that it would be unreasonable to administer the research questionnaires pat. Who refused to take part pat. Who had already attended once

1

Hopkins 1989 [45]

1981 - 1982

Great Britain

48 general practices (143 doctors)

n.r.

n.r.

n.r.

unclear

patients consulting for ICD 9: 780.4 and 386

 

1

Jayarajan 2003 [14]

08/2000 - 07/2001

Great Britain

53 general practitioners

62,6 average (3318)

range 5+ 5-20: 1.3% 20-40: 13.5% 40-60: 24.7% 60-80: 40.5% > 80: 20%

n.r.

retrospective

dizziness

 

1

Kroenke 1989 [25]

08/1984 – 07/1987

USA

Internal Medicine clinic at Brooke Army Medical Center (primary care)

55

n.r.

n.r.

retrospective

dizziness (new complaint or recurrent complaint that prompted a new diagnostic workup)

chronic dizziness

1,2,3

Kroenke 1998 [26]

n.r.

USA

Walter Reed Army Medical Center general medicine walk-in clinic

30

adults

n.r.

prospective

adult outpatients presenting with physical complaints (excl. Upper respiratory infection) dizziness

 

3

Kwong 2005 [4]

02/2001 – 01/2003

Canada

1 family practice center

50

range 65-91 < 80: 38% > = 80 62%

58

retrospective

ICD 9 code of “780” (dizziness) 65 years of age or older random sample of eligible charts

Patients who are discharged from service or died

2

Lawson 1999 [35]

a 3 month period

Great Britain

general practitioners from 4 practices

50

74 (61-78)

74a

prospective

patients presenting with dizziness more than 60 years of age

 

1,2

Maarsingh 2010 [23, 36]

06/2006 - 01/2008

Netherlands

45 family physicians in 24 family practices

417

78.5 (65-95)

74

prospective

dizziness being present for at least 2 weeks main reason for consultation 65 years or older

inability to speak Dutch or English, severe cognitive impairment, severe visual impairment (i.e. corrected visual acuity of less than 3/60 for the best eye), severe hearing impairment (i.e. verbal communication impossible), wheelchair dependency

2,3

Mash 2012 [46]

n.r.

South Africa

240 health workers (nurses saw 86,1% of the patients) in mobile clinics, fixed clinics and community health centres

299

n.r.

n.r.

prospective

all patients contacts ICPC: Reason for encounter N17 – vertigo/ dizziness

 

1

MedViP 2008 [47]

04/2001 - 12/2002

Germany

138 primary care practices

10,871

59

67.2

retrospective

ICD 10 Codes (H81, H82, A88, R42) dizziness medication synonyms for dizziness diagnoses

 

1,2

Morrell 1972 [48, 49]

1 year

Great Britain

1 general practice (3 doctors)

74

0-4: 1.4a % 5-14: 10.8a % 15-24: 17.6a % 25-44: 21.6a % 45-64: 25.7a % > 65: 23.0a %

70.3a

prospective

patients with a new symptom (which had not been presented to any doctor in the previous 12 months) disturbance of balance

 

1,2

NAMCS 1989 [50]

1981 and 1985

USA

family physicians, general practitioners and general internists

531

61.3 (25+)

66.7

prospective

all patients contacts Reason for encounter: S225.0 vertigo – dizziness

 

1

PCD 1994 [27, 51]

01-06 and 08-10 1991

USA

4 family group practices, 1 internal medicine group practice, 1 university family practice center, 1 solo general internist, 1 solo family physician, 1 county hospital emergency department

142

58.6 (17-90) > 60: 59.2% < 60: 40.8%

71.8

prospective

dizziness as chief complaint or part of a symptom complex that represented the principal reason for visit at least 18 years

 

2,3

Rieger 2014 [52]

01/2008 - 12/2008

Germany

general practitioners

489598a

range 18-74

n.r.

retrospective

ICD H81, H82, R42, A88.1, E53.8, F45.8, G11.8, G43.1, G45.0-, G62, G63, G90.3, H55, H83.0– 2, I95.1, N95.1 and R26 without R26.1

 

1

Sicras 2007 [17]

2006

Spain

5 primary health care centers

6504

n.r.

n.r.

retrospective

ICPC diagnosis N17 vertigo/ dizziness

 

1

Sczepanek 2011 [24]

n.r.

Germany

21 primary care practices

69

76.19 (SD 6.64) (range 65-95)

69.6

prospective

incident dizziness (less than six months) as main reason for encounter age at least 65 years

insufficient command of the German language, dementia, terminal diseases

2,3

Transition Project 2012 [53]

1995 - 2005

Netherlands, Malta, Serbia

59 general practices (69 doctors)

n.r.

n.r.

n.r.

prospective

all patients contacts ICPC: Reason for encounter N17 – vertigo/ dizziness

 

1

Wun 2000 [19]

12/1997 - 03/1998

China

28 commune clinics = general practice clinics (42 primary care doctors)

1331

60.8 (SD 13.5)

n.r.

prospective

all patients contacts ICPC: Reason for encounter N17 – vertigo/ dizziness

 

1

Yardley 1998 [22]

n.r.

Great Britain

10 general practices

aet: 143 prog: 76

aet: 59.8a(18+) prog: 59.6a

aet: 80.4a prog: 82.9a

aet: retrospective prog: prospective

study participants 18 years and older with a complaint of dizziness patient still symptomatic

non-vestibular cause for dizziness performance of vigorous head or body movements during exercise therapy was contraindicated multiple, life-threatening or progessive central disorders

2,3

Yardley 2004 [21]

2001 - 2002

Great Britain

20 general practices

aet: 170 prog: 87

aet: 61.9a(18+) prog: 61.0 SD 14.42

aet: 71 prog: 71

aet: retrospective prog: prospective

study participants 18 years and older with a complaint of dizziness

Patients no longer found to be dizzy duration of dizziness less than 2 months during the past 2 years nonlabyrinthine cause of dizziness in patient records, none of the rehabilitation exercises provoked dizziness, medical contraindications for making required head movements serious comorbid conditions

2,3

Yardley 2012 [20]

10/2008 - 07/2009

Great Britain

35 general practices

112

58.2 (18 +)

75

prospective

study participants 18 years and older with a complaint of dizziness during the past two years

patients who were no longer dizzy, non vestibular causes of dizziness, dizziness was not aggravated by rapid head movements, contraindications to treatment by vestiublar rehabilitation inability to speak English

3

  1. aData not directly available in publication, but could be calculated
  2. bFirst research question: Prevalence of the consulting reason dizziness at general practice
  3. Second research question: Aetiology of the consulting reason dizziness at general practice
  4. Third research question: Prognosis of the consulting reason dizziness at general practice
  5. n.r Not reported, prev Prevalence, aet Aetiology, prog Prognosis, BEACH Bettering the Evaluation and Care of Health, CONTENT CONTinuous morbidity registration Epidemiologic NeTwork, DNSGP-2 Second Dutch National Survey of General Practice, MedViP Medizinische Versorgung in der Praxis, NAMCS National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, PCD Primary Care Dizziness Study