Vertigo in Elderly – Common but Complicated

Introduction: “Around, around the sun we go: The moon goes round the earth. We do not die of death: We die of vertigo.” – Archibald MacLeish The incidence of dizziness, vertigo and imbalance is around 5-10% in all age groups taken together [1] but as might be expected, the picture is not homogenously coloured. The incidence of the dizziness and vertigo increases considerably in old age with overall prevalence increasing to more than 30% in age group of more than 60 years [2] and more than 50% in individuals older than 85 years [3]. In elderly, dizziness and vertigo show slight preponderance in females as compared to males [3] but the mean level of self-perceived disability, anxiety, depression and symptom Dizziness and its subtype vertigo are common complaints occurring in all age groups after teenage but, it become a major health problem in elderly because of the frequency with which it affects the elder population and leads to direct and indirect consequences. Causes of vertigo in the elderly are not totally different from young population but to some extent they are different too. In elderly, the causation of dizziness and vertigo is interplay multiple factors, so its diagnosis and management differs from other age groups. This review is aimed at highlighting the special aspects of dizziness and vertigo in the elderly.