{
  "abstract": "Importance: Falls are often viewed as a problem of older age, yet dizziness and balance-related symptoms are common in adulthood and may help identify adults with elevated fall burden. Objective: To examine associations of dizziness and balance-related symptom burden with 12-month fall outcomes in U.S. adults aged 20 to 69 years and whether objective balance impairment adds information beyond symptoms. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2021 to 2023. Participants: The primary cohort included 6000 adults aged 20 to 69 years with complete symptom and outcome data. Extension analyses included participants with complete Modified Romberg Test data. Intervention or Exposures: Self-reported dizziness/balance-related symptoms in the past 12 months: vertigo, blurred vision with head movement, unsteadiness, and light-headedness/fainting. Secondary exposures were symptom count and objective balance impairment. Main Outcome Measures: Any fall, recurrent falls (≥3), frequent falls (≥5), and fall-related injury in the past 12 months. Survey-weighted quasi-Poisson regression estimated prevalence ratios (PRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: The weighted prevalence of any dizziness/balance-related symptom was 32.7%. After full adjustment, any symptom was associated with any fall (PR, 1.57; 95% CI, 1.40-1.75), recurrent falls (PR, 3.44; 95% CI, 2.81-4.21), frequent falls (PR, 5.09; 95% CI, 3.64-7.13), and fall-related injury (PR, 2.10; 95% CI, 1.66-2.65). Symptom count showed a dose-response relationship across outcomes. Compared with no symptoms, reporting 3 or more symptoms was associated with PRs of 1.97, 5.24, 8.19, and 3.10, respectively. Objective balance impairment alone showed weaker associations, whereas joint symptom-impairment phenotypes better stratified fall burden. Conclusions: Dizziness and balance-related symptom burden were strongly associated with multiple 12-month fall outcomes in U.S. adults aged 20 to 69 years. Objective balance impairment added limited complementary information beyond symptoms. Relevance: Symptom-based assessment may be a practical first step, with objective balance testing used selectively.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Fujian Institute of Otorhinolaryngology, the First Affiliated Hospital, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 6,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Xing Lin MM"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Wen Lv MM"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Bo Shu MM"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Huimin Cai MM"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Heng Xiao MD"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Shengnan Ye MD"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/e186j7ct72k3g.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1177/19160216261494502",
  "fulltext_url": "https://doi.org/10.1177/19160216261494502",
  "id": "e186j7ct72k3g",
  "issns": [
    "1916-0216"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1177/19160216261494502",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "lcc",
      "RD1-811"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": null,
  "pdf_url": null,
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-11-05",
  "publisher": "SAGE Publishing",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/e186j7ct72k3g.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-05T14:21:24Z",
      "native_id": "0f7a7a5e506b458a88e1de7beee98c6c",
      "source": "doaj",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1177/19160216261494502"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "lcc:RD1-811",
      "subfield": "surgery"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Dizziness and Balance-Related Symptom Burden and 12-Month Fall Risk in U.S. Adults Aged 20 to 69 Years",
  "title_text": "Dizziness and Balance-Related Symptom Burden and 12-Month Fall Risk in U.S. Adults Aged 20 to 69 Years",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-07T14:20:37Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/e186j7ct72k3g",
  "venue": "Journal of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery",
  "versions": []
}