The Dizziness Handicap Inventory and sickness absence: a cross-sectional study.

A higher DHI-score was associated with sickness absence in addition to the duration of absence the previous month. These results indicate the relevance and clinical usefulness of the DHI as a possible indicator of sickness absence from work in patients with dizziness regardless of diagnosis.IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATIONApproximately half of patients referred to a dizziness clinic have sickness absence.A higher score on The Dizziness Handicap Inventory is associated with longer duration of sickness absence.A vestibular diagnosis was not associated with sickness absence.The results indicate that the Dizziness Handicap Inventory may be a clinically useful tool for identifying patients with a high risk of sickness absence.