Receiving Long-Term Disability or Pursuing a Legal Claim May Prevent Recovery From Chronic Dizziness

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychology
• Otolaryngology

Background:

• Chronic dizziness (CD) is often linked with psychological comorbidities, necessitating interdisciplinary treatment.
• Despite comprehensive care, recovery for CD patients involved in long-term disability (LTD) or legal claims (LC) appears hindered.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare symptom recovery in chronic dizziness patients undergoing interdisciplinary treatment.
• To differentiate recovery outcomes between patients pursuing LTD/LC and those who are not.
• To identify factors influencing symptom severity changes in chronic dizziness.

Main Methods:

• A retrospective cohort study analyzed 195 adult patients from an interdisciplinary neurotology clinic.
• Patients with baseline Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI) and Dizziness Catastrophizing Scale (DCS) scores were included.
• Participants were categorized into LTD/LC+ (n=92) or LTD/LC- (n=103) groups based on claim status.

Main Results:

• Significant differences in mean percentage changes of DHI and DCS scores were observed between groups (P < .01).
• LTD/LC+ patients showed minimal change (8.0% DHI increase, 7.6% DCS increase).
• LTD/LC- patients demonstrated substantial improvement (21.5% DHI reduction, 25.9% DCS reduction), adjusted for covariates.

Conclusions:

• Pursuing LTD/LC was associated with a lack of improvement in chronic dizziness symptoms and catastrophizing.
• Future prospective studies are needed to confirm these findings and explore contributing factors.
• Potential factors include anxiety from the claims process and the development of a sick-role identity.