Objective To determine the relationship between patient-reported anxiety and patient-reported dizziness in individuals attending interdisciplinary rehabilitation at Advance Concussion Clinic (ACC) in Vancouver, BC.

Participants Retrospective intake data from 125 concussion patients (45 male (36%), 80 female (64%)), aged 18–55 years, was extracted from ACC’s database.

Design Hierarchical multiple linear regressions were used to evaluate the influence of anxiety on dizziness, as measured using the Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS v. 2.1), and the Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI), respectively. Anxiety history, sex, and concussion history were entered into the model as covariates to determine whether these variables improved the prediction of both DHI Total and DHI subcategories: Emotional, Physical, and Functional.

Main Results PROMIS anxiety percentile scores were statistically significant predictors of DHI Total (R2: 0.422, p < .0001), DHI Emotional (R2: 0.412, p < .0001), DHI Physical (R2: 0.345, p < .0001), and DHI Functional (R2: 0.393, p < .0001). The addition of sex improved the prediction of the model for only DHI Total (R2: 0.443, p = 0.041) and DHI Physical (R2: 0.347, p = 0.041). Neither anxiety history nor concussion history improved the predictability of the model for DHI Total or any DHI subcategory.

Conclusions Patient-reported anxiety and sex are predictors of dizziness severity among individuals engaging in concussion rehabilitation. Improving our understanding of the relationship between anxiety and dizziness can improve treatment planning and rehabilitation outcomes for concussion.