Epidemiology

  • The overall incidence of dizziness, vertigo, and imbalance is 5-10%,
  • and it reaches 40% in patients older than 40 years.
  • The incidence of falling is 25% in subjects older than 65 years. A report reviewing presentation to US emergency departments (EDs) from 1995 through 2004 indicated that vertigo and dizziness accounted for 2.5% of presentations. [1]
  • The estimated number of US ED visits for dizziness or vertigo was 3.9 million. [2]
  • A report using data from the Swedish National study on Aging and Care (SNAC) found that in patients younger than 80 years, the prevalence of falls was 16.5% and that of dizziness 17.8%,
  • whereas in patients older than 80 years, the prevalence of falls was 31.7% and that of dizziness 31%. [3] The younger patients tended to have more specific predictive factors, whereas the older patients tended to have more general ones.