Does Cognitive Dysfunction Correlate With Dizziness Severity in Meniére's Disease Patients

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Otolaryngology
• Psychology

Background:

• Meniere's disease (MD) is a complex inner ear disorder characterized by episodic vertigo, tinnitus, and hearing loss.
• Cognitive dysfunction is frequently reported in MD patients, impacting their quality of life.
• The relationship between dizziness severity and cognitive impairment in MD requires further elucidation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between cognitive dysfunction and dizziness severity in patients with Meniere's disease.
• To evaluate the correlation between changes in dizziness and cognitive function following treatment interventions for MD.
• To determine if the Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI) adequately reflects cognitive changes in MD patients.

Main Methods:

• A retrospective review of 29 definite Meniere's disease patients treated between 2015 and 2019.
• Patients underwent a progressive treatment protocol including salt restriction, diuretics, and potentially steroid/gentamycin injections or endolymphatic sac decompression.
• Quality of life was assessed using the Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI), and cognitive function using the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ), both pre- and post-treatment.

Main Results:

• While some limited associations were found between improvements in DHI and CFQ scores, overall changes in total DHI scores did not significantly correlate with changes in CFQ.
• Improvement in the 'false-triggering' domain of the CFQ was significantly associated with improvement in the DHI physical subscale.
• Non-significant associations were observed between CFQ improvement and total DHI and DHI emotional subscale scores.

Conclusions:

• The Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI) demonstrates correlations with measures of cognitive dysfunction (CFQ) in Meniere's disease patients.
• However, the overall change in DHI and CFQ with therapy shows poor correlation, suggesting the DHI may not fully capture cognitive dysfunction in MD.
• The physical and emotional subscales of the DHI may provide more specific insights into cognitive dysfunction changes during treatment for MD.