Abstract / Summary
ABSTRACT Introduction It has been previously reported that patients with vestibular migraine (VM) are more prone to anxiety and depressive symptoms. However, the association between the pathophysiology of VM and anxiety and depressive symptoms is still unclear. This study aimed to investigate this association by comparing patients with VM and probable VM (PVM), based on the hypothesis that patients fulfilling the complete diagnostic criteria for VM more closely represent the core clinical phenotype of the disorder than those fulfilling the criteria for PVM. Methods We reviewed the medical records of 1736 consecutive patients seen at our clinic between March 2018, when routine measurement of Self‐rating Depression Scale (SDS) and State‐Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) began, and December 2024. Thirty‐four VM patients and 13 PVM patients were included. Multiple regression analyses were performed to see whether the subjects' age, sex or the VM diagnostic category (VM vs. PVM) had an association with SDS, STAI‐1 and STAI‐2 scores. Results The VM diagnostic category was significantly associated with SDS scores, with VM patients showing higher scores than PVM patients ( p = 0.0095; post hoc power = 0.92). There was no significant association between the VM diagnostic category and STAI‐1 or STAI‐2 scores ( p = 0.542 and 0.367; post hoc power = 0.10 and 0.23), suggesting that limited statistical power may have affected detection of anxiety associations. Conclusion VM patients are more likely to report depressive symptoms than PVM patients, suggesting an association between VM pathophysiology and depressive symptoms.