Effects of the Kahramanmaras, Turkey 2023 earthquakes on balance perception, dizziness and post-traumatic stress: A relational screening model between subjective balance problems and post-traumatic stress

OBJECTIVE

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of the February 6, 2023, earthquakes in Turkey and recurrent aftershocks on balance and post-traumatic stress in surviving victims.

METHODS

Our study included 1004 participants aged 18-65 years who were exposed to the February 6 earthquakes and aftershocks in Turkey. After obtaining online consent from all participants, the Vertigo Symptom Scale (VSS), the Dizziness Handicap Index (DHI), and the Posttraumatic Post-Traumatic Disorder Checklist Scale (PCL-5) were administered online, and the interactions between the variable sets were examined using a correlational screening model.

RESULTS

As a result of the structural equation model established with the observed variables, it was found that VSS total scores had a statistically significant positive effect on PCL-5 (β1 = 0.56; p = 0.001 < 0.05). In addition, statistically significant positive high-level correlations were found between VSS and DHI (covVSS-DHI = 0.71), and a positive low level correlation with the number of days with dizziness (covVSS-number of days with dizziness = 0.34), and a positive low level correlation with frequency of days with dizziness (covVSS-frequency of days with dizziness = 0.37). A statistically significant positive low-level relationship was found between DHI and the number of days with dizziness (covDHI-number of days with dizziness = 0.34) and a positive low-level correlation between DHI and the frequency of days with dizziness (covDHI-frequency of days with dizziness = 0.29).

CONCLUSION

The structural equation modeling analysis showed that post-traumatic stress disorder had a significant effect on balance and dizziness.

Evaluation of Mental Rotation Ability in Patients with Unilateral Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo

BACKGROUND

Our study aims to determine whether there are differences in mental rotation abilities between unilateral benign paroxysmal positional vertigo patients and healthy controls using object-based mental rotation tasks.

METHODS

Our study included 17 unilateral posterior canal benign paroxysmal positional vertigo patients and 20 healthy adults. Spontaneous nystagmus test, saccade test, and dynamic positional tests with videonystagmography and object-based mental rotation test with 2-dimensional images of cubes rotated at certain angles in 3-dimensional space were performed on the participants. The mental rotation test response time and the number of correct answers were compared between patients and controls. We also evaluated whether there was a relationship between saccade test parameters and mental rotation test parameters in our study.

RESULTS

No significant relationship was found between benign paroxysmal positional vertigo patients and controls on any of the dependent measures (P -gt; .05). When we evaluated the relationship between saccadic latency and accuracy and mental rotation test response time and number of correct answers in benign paroxysmal positional vertigo patients, no significant relationship was found (P -gt; .05).

CONCLUSION

Our findings show that unilateral, posterior canal benign paroxysmal positional vertigo does not affect object-based mental rotation performance. In our study, no correlation was found between saccadic function and mental rotation ability in unilateral benign paroxysmal positional vertigo patients.

Evaluation of the Correlation Between Turkish Voice Handicap Index-10 and Turkish Voice-Related Quality of Life Scale

OBJECTIVE

Aim of this sudy was to evaluate the correlation between Turkish Voice Handicap Index-10 (TVHİ-10) and Turkish Voice-Related Quality of Life Questionnaries (TV-RQOL) on patients with dysphonia.

METHODS

Two different groups were formed with patients with dysphonia and healthy individuals between February and July 2016. After medical history and otorhinolaringologic and phoniatric examinations all the subjects completed TVHI-10 and TV-RQOL questionnaries. The correlation between scores of parameters of questionnaries were evaluated.

RESULTS

Data of 104 patients (59 women, 45 men) with a mean age of 46±15 years in dysphonia group and 75 individuals (38 women, 37 men) with a mean age of 45±13.8 years in healthy group were evaluated. TVHI-10 and TV-RQOL parameters' scores were significantly higher in dysphonia group than healthy group. There were positive and significant correlations between scores of TVHI-10 and TV-RQOL parameters of all 179 individuals. There was significant positive correlation between total scores of TVHI-10 and TV-RQOL values of all individuals (r=0.949, p<0.001).

CONCLUSION

There is positive significant correlation between validated Turkish versions of VHI-10 and V-RQOL questionnaries as a self-assessment measurement tools. The results of studies which use TV-RQOL can be compared with the results of the studies using TVHI-10.