If you suffer from unresolved vertigo, help is on the horizon.

Researchers in Utah and Iceland have discovered who gets vertigo — and that could lead to better understanding, diagnosis and treatment of the problem that causes the severe dizziness.

As part of the HerediGene: Population Study, the world’s largest DNA mapping initiative, scientists from Intermountain Healthcare and deCODE genetics, which is a subsidiary of the Iceland-based bio pharmaceutical company Amgen, used nearly 50,000 DNA samples collected through simple blood tests.

Participants were from the United States, Finland, Iceland and the United Kingdom, according to Ástrós Skúladóttir, principal investigator from Iceland. Scientists examined those samples against more than 894,500 control samples to discover six common genetic variants associated with vertigo. One of the variants was linked to age-related hearing impairment.

“Vertigo is one of the leading causes of emergency room visits across our health system,” said Dr. Lincoln Nadauld, vice president and chief of precision health and academics for Intermountain Healthcare. “We haven’t had a clear explanation of the genetic basis of vertigo, so this is a very significant finding. This means we now have a much better understanding for why portions of our population experience these symptoms.”

Nadauld, along with the other researchers, spoke with reporters during a news conference on Wednesday. He said scientists all over the world can now read about the discovery and develop tests and medications to help patients.

The HerediGene: Population Study, which launched in 2019, focuses on discovering new connections between genetics and human disease. So far, more than 80,000 people have enrolled in the free study.

“Our discovery of these genetic variants associated with vertigo is a great example of the types of important findings that we think are to come from the HerediGene: Population study,” said Kári Stefánsson, the founder and CEO of deCODE genetics.

Dr. Krik Knowlton, chair of the department of cardiovascular research at the Intermountain Healthcare Heart Institute, said people experiencing vertigo often seek medical help because they think they’re having a heart attack or stroke, which is not always the case. He said knowing the patient may have a genetic predisposition to vertigo will help physicians more effectively treat them and help distinguish the cause of their vertigo from causes of dizziness.

Vertigo affects nearly 40% of Americans at some point in their lives and is the leading cause of falls for Americans, resulting in thousands of emergency department visits each year. Vertigo causes a sense of dizziness and balance problems as well as nausea and vomiting. Many people never find an underlying reason for the problem.

“The last few years I’ve been suffering from vertigo. I would be driving and suddenly the sky was spinning and falling around me and I would have to pull over and catch my bearings,” said Stephanie Nay, a participant in the study from Murray. “It’s like walking through a tunnel spinning and rotating around me. I had a series of lab, hearing and balancing tests. All the tests came back inconclusive so I’m really excited about this research that will lead to better findings to help treat patients.”

Anyone can enroll in the HerediGene: Population Study at no cost by consenting at http://HerediGene.org and donating a small amount of blood at an Intermountain Healthcare hospital or clinic. Its goal is to better predict and prevent serious diseases through research and discovery.

The full report of the study can be found in the scientific journal, Communications Biology, a publication of Nature.

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