The influences of age, gender and geometric pattern of visual image on the verticality perception: A subjective visual vertical (SVV) study among Malaysian adults

Abstract

Objectives: Subjective visual vertical (SVV) is a simple, quick and reliable test for measuring utricular function. The literature on the effects of fundamental demographic variables such as age and gender on SVV is inconclusive and should be supported by research with larger samples. The aim of the present study was to determine the influences of age, gender and geometric pattern of visual image on SVV among healthy adults. Study Design: This study employed a repeated measures design. Settings: Otorhinolaryngology Clinic, Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia. Participants: Eligible Malaysian adults (N = 187, aged 21-75 years) were recruited and categorised into young (N = 60), middle-aged (N = 66) and older (N = 61) groups. Most of them were Malay, and 51.3% were men. Main Outcome Measures: Subjective visual vertical angles (in degrees) were determined from each participant in a static upright condition using a computerised SVV device. They were asked to indicate their verticality perception for three types of visual images (solid line, dotted line and arrow pattern).Results: Three-way mixed ANOVA revealed insignificant influences of age and gender on SVV results (P > 0.05). In contrast, mean SVV angles were significantly higher for the arrow pattern than for other visual images (P = 0.004).Conclusion: While the insignificant influences of age and gender on static SVV are further ascertained with larger samples, the perception of verticality is less accurate when aligning a more geometrically complex visual image (ie, arrow pattern). Further SVV research on vestibular-disordered patients is beneficial, particularly to verify the normative data obtained with this complex visual image.

Young and Older Adults Differ in Integration of Sensory Cues for Vertical Perception

“…Despite well-documented findings regarding the aging effect on the vestibular system [ 17 – 23 ], we found no effect of age on SVV. Such results support previous studies that showed that spatial accuracy for SVV is not impaired nor intensified with age [ 26 – 28 ]. However, our results are in disagreement with the results reported by Baccini et al [ 25 ], who reported that static SVV measurements were age-dependent and that older participants had more difficulty in judging the absolute vertical, resulting in larger deviations from the true vertical.…”

“…e functional consequence of decline in the function of the otolith organs includes age-dependent reduction in afferent signals to the integrating centers for SVV within the central nervous system, and consequently reduced sensitivity to gravity and linear acceleration [22,23]. Despite this age-dependent deterioration, reports on age-dependent modulation of SVV are inconsistent [24][25][26][27][28].…”

Effect of head roll‐tilt on the subjective visual vertical in healthy participants: Towards better clinical measurement of gravity perception

“…reported that a 30 head roll-tilt tends to tilt the SVV in the opposite respectively. The HU-SVV was not influenced by age, as reported previously, 33,34 and HTPG laterality demonstrated similar characteristics. In contrast, the HTPG, indicating the magnitude of gravity perception, was significantly larger in middle-aged and elderly than in young participants.…”

Acoustic Reflex Latency (ARL) Assessment in Malaysian Adults: The Effects of Age, Gender and Stimulus Frequency

“…Age and gender are important fundamental variables in clinical studies. As such, depending on the study outcomes, specific normative data based on age or gender might be required to enhance the diagnostic accuracy of a specific clinical tool (Jalaei et al, 2017;Zakaria et al, 2018). In the present study, a (Clemis and Sarno, 1980;Hall, 2007).…”