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Resumo(s)
Background/Objectives: Ménière’s disease (MD) is a chronic inner-ear disorder characterized by vertigo, tinnitus, and fluctuating sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) that impairs health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and is frequently accompanied by psychological distress. This study aims to quantify psychological distress and generic HRQoL in patients with definite MD compared with age- and sex-matched general-population controls and to examine the associations between hearing loss (HL) severity, symptom-related handicap, and these outcomes within the MD cohort. Methods: In this observational cross-sectional study, 45 adults with definite MD were recruited from an otolaryngology clinic in Portugal and individually matched (1:3) by sex and 10-year age strata to 135 participants from the EpiDoC population cohort. HRQoL was assessed using the SF-36v2 and EQ-5D-3L, psychological distress using the HADS, and tinnitus- and dizziness-related handicap using the THI and DHI. HL severity was staged using the AAO-HNS (1995) criteria. Results: Patients with MD had higher anxiety and depression scores and nearly twice the prevalence of abnormal anxiety compared with controls. SF-36v2 scores were significantly worse in several role and psychosocial domains, with less bodily pain but similar physical functioning and general health. EQ-5D-3L revealed a lower utility index and higher pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression. Within the MD cohort, HL stage was only weakly related to distress and HRQoL. In contrast, higher THI and DHI scores were consistently associated with more severe anxiety and depression and lower SF-36v2 scores. In multivariable analysis, abnormal anxiety was strongly associated with moderate-to-severe tinnitus handicap (OR = 17.5), whereas higher depressive symptoms independently predicted moderate-to-severe dizziness handicap, with abnormal anxiety showing a strong but borderline association with the latter. Conclusions: MD confers clinically meaningful HRQoL decrements and a higher psychological distress burden than in the general population. Tinnitus- and dizziness-related handicap and psychological distress, particularly anxiety, rather than HL severity, are key multidisciplinary management targets. Systematic screening for anxiety and depression, regardless of audiometric stage, should be integrated into MD care pathways.
Descrição
Acknowledgments: During the preparation of this manuscript, the authors used the Graphical Abstract AI tool (grabstract.io, accessed March 2025) to generate the graphical abstract. The authors have reviewed and edited the output and take full responsibility for the content of this publication. The authors gratefully acknowledge the EpiDoC research team for providing access to the population-based cohort data used as controls in this study. The authors also thank Cintramédica - Clínica de Imagem Médica for supporting the recruitment and assessment of patients with Ménière’s disease and for providing access to audiological and vestibular diagnostic facilities and equipment required for data collection.
This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Developments in Hearing and Balance Disorders: 2nd Edition
Article nr. 3919
This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Developments in Hearing and Balance Disorders: 2nd Edition
Article nr. 3919
Palavras-chave
Ménière’s disease tinnitus dizziness hearing loss psychological distress health-related quality of life SF-36 EQ-5D anxiety depression
Contexto Educativo
Citação
Ribeiro, D.; Martins, T.; Oliveira, A.; Simões Dias, S.; Caroça, C. Psychological Distress and Health-Related Quality of Life in Ménière’s Disease: A Comparative Study in the Portuguese Population. J. Clin. Med. 2026, 15, 3919. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm15103919
Editora
MDPI