Depression Assessment in Elderly with Vestibular Vertigo

Objective: Dizziness is one of the common complaints in the elderly.It can be caused by vestibular disorders.Depression is also prevalent in people with vestibular vertigo, and there is evidence that the two disorders are correlated.However, there is a paucity of research literature on depression and its correlation with vestibular vertigo in the elderly.No relevant studies have ever been conducted in Iran.Hence, this study aimed to analyze the correlations between depression and handicaps caused by vertigo in the elderly.Method: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 50 elderly participants aged 60-70year old with vestibular vertigo.They made complaints about vertigo and comorbid handicaps on the Persian version of the Dizziness Handicap Inventory.Moreover, their depression degree was measured through the Persian version of the Beck Depression Short Form.Results: According to the data, women and men accounted for 52% and 48% of the population, respectively.Their average age was 68.26±8.9 years old.The results indicated that 84% of the participants suffered from some degrees of depression.There was a significant positive correlation between the BDI-13 score and the total DHI score (r=0.663) that consisted of a physical DHI component (r=0.607), an emotional DHI component (r=0.683), and a functional DHI component (r=0.447). Conclusion:The prevalence of depression was high in the statistical population, and there was a significant relationship between vertigo and the severity of depression.