Prevalence of peripheral vestibular diseases in children in Germany

Introduction Dizziness is a common complaint among patients; however, a lack of valid data concerning age and gender distribution of dizziness disorders among children under the age of 15 years can preclude effective diagnosis and treatment. The goal of this study was to describe the prevalence and gender distribution of three classical peripheral vestibular disorders; benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), vestibular neuritis (VN), and Meniere's disease (MD) as well as unspecific dizziness (UV) in children between 0 and 15 years of age, using state sponsored health insurance data. Methods A population-based epidemiological survey based on confirmed International Classification of Diseases (ICD) 10 codes of all persons aged 0-15 years in a national population was performed. Outcome measures were age and gender distribution and prevalence of BPPV, VN, and MD in this population. Results Dizziness diagnosed as being of peripheral vestibular origin was found in 1414 patients. The prevalence of peripheral vestibular disorders was found to be 15.16 per 100,000 individuals. The BPPV was coded most frequently with a prevalence of 10.21 per 100,000 individuals, followed by VN with a prevalence of 3.5 per 100,000 and MD at 1.54 per 100,000. Conclusion Peripheral vestibular disorders can occur in childhood and the prevalence increases with age. In childhood, girls and boys are similarly affected. Peripheral vestibular disorders should be taken into consideration when a young child presents with vertigo or dizziness and are even more important when a child presents with unclear symptoms, as very young children might not be able to adequately verbalize dizziness and vertigo. For that reason peripheral vestibular disorders in childhood are probably underdiagnosed.