Many US Children Have Been Bothered By Symptoms Of Dizziness Or Balance Problems, Study Says

There are over one in 20 U.S. children that are nearly 3.3 million, with age between 3 and 17, have dizziness or balance problems, according to a study.

Science Daily reports that the study was led by researchers from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorder (NIDC) -- a branch of the National Institutes of Health. It was published online in The Journal of Pediatrics on Jan. 27.

"These findings suggest that dizziness and balance problems are fairly common among children, parents and provider  should be aware of the impact these problems can have on children," James F. Battey, Jr. MD. Ph.D., a pediatrician and a director of the NIDC. "Parents who notice dizziness and balance problems in their children should consult a health care provider to rule out a seriously underlying condition."

The findings show that there is 5.7 percent higher incidence of dizziness and balance order among girls than the boys with 5.0 percent. There is 6.1 percent prevalence of dizziness and balance order among the non-Hispanic white children and 4.6 percent of Hispanic children. The non-Hispanic black children have 4.3 percent.

The research involved 11,000 children from ages 3 to 17. Parents were then asked by the researchers if their children had experienced dizziness or balance problems. The outcome shows that children are affected by dizziness and balance problems. Figures show that 35.1 percent parents reported light-headedness, 25.0 percent had frequent falls, 46.0 percent had poor coordination 29.0 percent had vertigo and 8.5 percent had other dizziness and balance problems.

"Our findings are consistent with the limited prevalence data in other countries, and provide much-needed baseline estimates of dizziness and balance problems in US children," Howard J. Hoffman, MA., co-author of the study and director of epidemiology and statistics at the NIDCD.

"Dizziness and balance problems in children continue to be an understudied area and we hope that this analysis leads to a better understanding of the scope and such factors associated with these issues," Hoffman concluded.

The symptoms of dizziness and balance disorder include clumsiness or poor coordination, vertigo and poor balance/unsteadiness when standing up, fainting or light-headedness or frequent falls. Vestibular shares how dizziness and balance disorder can be treated. The treatments for these conditions are Vestibular Rehabilitation Therapy, Canalith Repositioning Maneuver, home-based exercise, dietary adjustments, counselling or talk therapy, medication and surgery.