Differential effects of gender and age on dynamic subjective visual vertical

In a retrospective study, the data of direction-dependent deviations in dynamic subjective visual vertical (SVV) testing were analysed in 1811 dizzy patients (174 benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, 99 unilateral vestibulopathy, 67 bilateral vestibulopathy, 151 Menière’s disease, 375 vestibular migraine, 82 cerebellar disorder, 522 functional dizziness, 341 unclear diagnosis) and in 59 healthy controls. Major findings were (i) a significant gender difference with higher directional deviations in females over the entire range of age, (ii) a significant increase of directional deviations with increasing age for both genders and in all disease subgroups as well as in healthy controls, and (iii) a lack of significant difference of directional deviations between all tested diseases. Thus, the data allow no recommendation for performing additional angular deviation analysis in dynamic SVV testing as part of routine clinical management of dizzy patients. However, as shown in earlier longitudinal studies, it still appears reasonable that dynamic SVV in acute rather than chronic vestibular disorders may provide a useful instrument for the monitoring of acute unilateral vestibular tonus imbalances in the course of the disease.