Purpose: The association of vertigo with anxiety disorders is well known. Herein, we aimed to determine the relationship between pre-treatment and post-treatment anxiety levels, assessed with Beck anxiety inventory, with educational status among patients diagnosed with and treated for Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), and to evaluate the effect of treatment on the sub-parameters of the Beck anxiety inventory.
Methods: Our study included a total of 33 patients that presented to the otorhinolaryngology outpatient clinic with acute vertigo and were diagnosed to have posterior canal BPPV. Patients diagnosed with posterior BPPV were applied Beck anxiety inventory prior to the treatment as well as 1 week and 4 weeks after the treatment.
Results: Compared to the control group, statistically significant changes were observed in relation to pre-treatment and post-treatment inventory scores (p < 0.05). A comparison of the pre-treatment and post-treatment assessments revealed significant differences (p < 0.05). Improvements were observed in 48% (10/21) of the subparameters by the end of the first week at the earliest. Educational status had no significant effect on inventory scores (p > 0.05).
Conclusion: Anxiety-related subjective symptoms mostly started to improve 1 week after the treatment at the earliest, and symptoms showed persistence at a certain level even at the end of the first month. Inequalities between the patients' educational levels affect anxiety levels. It should be remembered that educational status should be considered when approaching patients.
Keywords: Anxiety; BPPV; Beck anxiety inventory; Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo; Vertigo.