Sex-related differences in the physical, functional, physiological, and emotional profile of adults with chronic vestibular hypofunction: a cross-sectional EXERVEST study.
Maitane Ruiz-Rios, Asier Lekue-Madinabeitia, Mikel Tous-Espelosin and 5 others
PMID 42719175WHAT IT FOUND
In adults with chronic vestibular hypofunction, women and men differed in body composition, exercise capacity, visual balance, and sleep.
They did not differ in depression, anxiety, dizziness handicap, activity, or fall risk. Use same-sex reference values rather than assuming one sex is worse.
Key findings
01Women and men differed in body composition: men had higher body mass, waist-to-hip ratio, fat-free mass and resting diastolic blood pressure, while women had higher fat mass.
02Men had higher exercise capacity and higher scores on visual and visual preference balance measures than women.
03Women and men did not differ in dizziness handicap, depression, or anxiety, but women had higher sleep efficiency, bedtime and total sleep time.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The study was cross-sectional, so it can show differences between groups but cannot show that chronic vestibular hypofunction caused them or that sex caused the observed differences. There was no healthy control group, so the profile may reflect middle-aged and older adults rather than chronic vestibular hypofunction specifically. Women were significantly older than men, and age was not adjusted for in the sex comparisons. Many outcomes were tested without correction for multiple comparisons, so some small or moderate sex differences could be chance findings. The sample was modest and unequal, with 35.8% men, which limited power for some sex comparisons. Participants had different causes and durations of vestibular hypofunction, from one to 44 years, and unilateral and bilateral presentations were pooled. More than half of participants (56.7%) were taking medication for cardiovascular, metabolic, or psychiatric conditions, which could influence body composition, blood pressure, mood or sleep. Missing assessments were handled by complete-case analysis, so some outcomes were analysed in fewer participants.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that being female causes worse balance, exercise or sleep outcomes in chronic vestibular hypofunction. The study measured groups at one time, women were older than men, and age was not adjusted for, so the differences may reflect age or chance rather than sex.