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The Effect of Age on Vestibular Rehabilitation Outcomes
Author(s) -
Whitney Susan L.,
Wrisley Diane M.,
Marchetti Gregory F.,
Furman Joseph M.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
the laryngoscope
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.181
H-Index - 148
eISSN - 1531-4995
pISSN - 0023-852X
DOI - 10.1097/00005537-200210000-00015
Subject(s) - mcnemar's test , medicine , rehabilitation , physical therapy , balance (ability) , vestibular system , mann–whitney u test , physical medicine and rehabilitation , audiology , statistics , mathematics
Objective The purpose of the retrospective chart review was to compare vestibular rehabilitation outcomes in young versus older adults. Study Design Retrospective matched design. Methods Twenty‐three persons with vestibular disorders aged 20 to 40 years were matched by gender, vestibular diagnosis, and vestibular function test results to 23 older adults aged 60 to 80 years. The patients were treated with a custom‐designed physical therapy exercise program. Patients completed the Dizziness Handicap Inventory, the Activities‐Specific Balance Confidence (ABC) scale, and the Dynamic Gait Index; number of falls; and rated the severity of their dizziness. The two‐sample t test, the Mann‐Whitney U test, and McNemar's test for correlated proportions were used to determine whether there was a difference in scores between the two age groups at the beginning and end of physical therapy. Results During the initial evaluation, older adults reported having statistically greater space and motion discomfort and more severe symptoms on a scale of 0 to 100. Younger adults had more impaired DGI scores and a higher proportion of caloric testing abnormalities. After rehabilitation, overall improvement was seen in both the younger and older populations. There were no statistical differences between the two groups on the DHI, the DGI, reported symptoms at discharge, or number of falls. When only the complete matched‐pair data were analyzed, there were no statistically significant differences between the age groups in the proportion of patients demonstrating clinical improvement. Conclusion Age does not significantly influence the beneficial effects of vestibular rehabilitation for persons with vestibular disorders.