Many elderly feel dizzy, but physical activity helps

If you're elderly and you feel dizzy, you might want to take more walks, according to study findings from Sweden.

Half of women 75 years and older report feeling dizzy, and 40 percent of men of that age, report Dr. Anna Ekwall, at Lund University, and colleagues in the journal Gerontology.

To identify the effects of dizziness on quality of life, and how to fight those effects, Ekwall's team surveyed 4,360 elderly people. Of these, 1,924 men and women (63 percent) reported dizziness during the previous 3 months.

Those who were dizzy reported poorer mental and physical quality of life, and were about twice as likely to report falling. Nearly 43 percent of the elders with dizziness said they felt down-in-the-dumps or depressed, compared with just 13 percent of their non-dizzy peers. Similar percentages reported worry and anxiousness, the researchers note.

While about half the elders with dizziness reported being able to complete regular daily tasks with no help, about 70 percent of their non-dizzy peers did so.

However, physical activity, whether at heavier or lighter levels, seemed to benefit elders with dizziness. Ekwall's team found better quality of life among elders with dizziness who said they partook in long or short walks, played sports, or did heavy or light gardening.

Even small things, such as doing the dishes, the laundry, or spending time outdoors are "good for decreasing the risk for poor quality of life," Ekwall said. They also decreased the risk of falling.

Dizziness is "a powerful variable" in the lives of older people, Ekwall and colleagues conclude. Therefore, they encourage caregivers to help elders to participate in daily physical activity.

SOURCE: Gerontology, online version August 25, 2009