Examination of relationship between "COVID-19 phobia" and functional dizziness in adults during the pandemic period

Various phobias which have negatif effects on human balance have been reported in the literature. In this study, it was aimed to examine the relationship between coronaphobia and functional imbalance, which entered the literature with the Covid-19 pandemic. The Coronavirus-19 Phobia Scale (C19P-S) was used to measure the coronaphobia level of the participants, and the Vertigo Symptom Scale-Short Form (VSS-SF), Activity-Specific Balance Confidence Scale (ABC), and Numerical Rating Scale (NRT) were used for balance assessment. It was investigated whether the correlation coefficients differed among the individuals included in the study who were infected with covid-19 and those who were not. It is known that anxiety has negative effects on balance. The anxiety level of the individuals participating in this study was measured with State and Trait Anxiety Inventory - II (STAI-II) and its relationship with the imbalance findings was examined. Factors that may cause imbalance were determined as exclusion criteria. The scale scores of 178 individuals between the ages of 18-65 who met the criteria for inclusion in the study were evaluated. Relationships between C19P-S total score, Psychological, Psycho-somatic, Economic and Social sub-scores and VSS-SF, ABC and NRT were examined separately. Weak and statistically significant relationships were found between C19P-S scores and VSS-SF and NRT scores, and weak and inversely significant relationships were found with ABC scale scores (p<0.005). There was no statistically significant relationship between STAI-II and VSS-SF, ABC, and NRT.