The relationship between functional head impulse test and age in healthy individuals

Abstract

BACKGROUND: fHIT is an easily applicable test battery that indirectly evaluates the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) from a functional perspective. AIMS/OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to Individuals determine the correlation between age and the percentage of correct answers (% CA) obtained in the functional head impulse test (fHIT) in healthy individuals. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 105 volunteers, 50 males and 55 females, between the ages of 18 and 70 years, participated in the study. A Beon Solution fHIT system (Zero Branco (TV), Italy) was used in the study. RESULTS: In our study, a decrease in the mean % CA was observed in all semicircular canals (SCCs) with increasing age. Between age and mean % CA, a significant negative moderate (–0.311) correlation was observed in lateral SCCs, and a significant negative low (–0.257) correlation was observed in posterior SCCs (p <  0.05). In anterior SCCs, there was no statistically significant relationship between age and mean % CA (p >  0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The present study performed in a healthy population will be helpful in terms of making comparisons in studies to be conducted in various vestibular diseases. It will also be a guide for identifying pathological consequences in vestibular diseases.