Trial reportPloS one2018
Effectiveness of a multifactorial intervention for dizziness in older people in primary care: A cluster randomised controlled trial.
Trial report in PloS one, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 44 citations in OpenAlex.
- Physical therapy interventions for older people with vertigo, dizziness and balance disorders addressing mobility and participation: a systematic review.BMC geriatrics · 2020Pooled it
- Dizziness in older persons at high risk of future hospitalization: prevalence, differences between those with and without dizziness, and effect of a proactive primary care intervention.BMC geriatrics · 2022Trial
- Cross-cultural validation of the Dutch Vertigo Symptom Scale - Short Form: dimensionality, reliability and cultural differences in symptom reporting.Journal of patient-reported outcomes · 2026Article
- Anxiety-Related Functional Dizziness: A Systematic Review of the Recent Evidence on Vestibular, Cognitive Behavioral, and Integrative Therapies.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- A scoping review of school-based psychological interventions for adolescent mental health in secondary education: addressing anxiety, depression, and well-being.Discover mental health · 2025Review
- Relationship Between Chronic Conditions and Balance Disorders in Outpatients with Dizziness: A Hospital-Based Cross-Sectional Study.Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research · 2021Article
- Balance Training With Vibrotactile Neurofeedback andFrontiers in neurology · 2021Article
- Impact of multidimensional interventions on quality of life and depression among older adults in a primary care setting in Brazil: a quasi-experimental study.Revista brasileira de psiquiatria (Sao Paulo, Brazil : 1999) · 2020Article
- Emerging and distinct video head impulse test responses in elderly with vestibular symptoms.Brazilian journal of otorhinolaryngologyArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesDizziness is common in older people. Physicians are often unable to identify a specific cause for dizziness in older people, even after an extensive diagnostic work-up. A prognosis-oriented approach, i.e. treating modifiable risk factors for an unfavourable course of dizziness, may reduce dizziness-related impairment in older people in primary care.
designCluster randomized controlled trial.
setting45 primary care practices in The Netherlands.
participants168 participants aged ≥65y who consulted their general practitioner for dizziness and experienced significant dizziness-related impairment (Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI) ≥30). Participants were part of to the intervention group (n = 83) or control group (n = 85), depending on whether they were enlisted in an intervention practice or in a control practice.
interventionsThe multifactorial intervention consisted of: medication adjustment in case of ≥3 prescribed fall-risk-increasing drugs (FRIDs) and/or stepped mental health care in case of anxiety disorder and/or depression and/or exercise therapy in case of impaired functional mobility. The intervention was compared to usual care. OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome was dizziness-related impairment. Secondary outcomes were quality of life (QoL), dizziness frequency, fall frequency, anxiety and depression, use of FRIDs.
resultsIntention-to-treat analysis showed no significant intervention effect on dizziness-related impairment (DHI score difference -0.69 [95% CI -5.66;4.28]; p = 0.79). The intervention proved effective in reducing the number of FRIDs (FRID difference -0.48 [95% CI -0.89;-0.06]; p = 0.02). No significant intervention effects were found on other secondary outcomes. The uptake of and adherence to the interventions was significantly lower in patients eligible for ≥2 interventions compared to patients eligible for one intervention (p<0.001).
conclusionsThe multifactorial intervention for dizziness in older patients showed no significant intervention effect on most outcomes and adherence to the multifactorial intervention was low. Although multifactorial treatment for older dizzy people seems promising in theory, we question its feasibility in daily practice. Future research could focus on a sequential treatment for dizziness, e.g. measuring effectiveness of various evidence-based therapies in a stepwise approach.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.