COMPARING DIZZINESS AND VERTIGO INVENTORY RESPONSES IN THAI AND THAI-CHINESE PEOPLE.

Background: It is acknowledged that ancestry may play a role in the like li - hood of reporting motion sickness, based upon ques tion naires in which symptoms are reported more frequently in indivi du - als with Asian ancestry. This study compares motion sick ness and re lated vertigo syndromes in Thai and Thai-Chinese populations. Material/Methods: The Motion Sickness Questionnaire; Albany Panic and Pho - bia Questionnaire; Acrophobia Questionnaire; Body Symp toms Ques tionnaire and the Situational Characteristics Questionnaire were administered to 128 participants. Eighty-eight partici pants had a father, mother and all grandparents of Thai ori gin, while 44 participants had with at least one Chinese ancestor among parents or grandparents. Results: All responses were similar between groups except regarding fear of heights, which is significantly higher in Thai partici - pants without recent Chinese ancestors. Conclusions: Reported motion sickness sensitivity is similar between Thai and Chinese populations. The group differences for some fear of heights items may be linked to each group' previous experience with heights. Results also suggest that although conquering a fear of heights might require specific visuovestibular adaptations, these adaptations alone may not be sufficient to lessen an individual'sfear of heights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]