Epidemiological Survey of Definitively Diagnosed Cases of Meniere's: Disease in the Hida District and Eastern Toyama Prefecture

The prevalence of definitively diagnosed cases of Meniere's disease (M.D.) in eastern Toyama prefecture and the Hida district of Gifu prefecture were examined. Questionnaires were sent to all ENT clinic (general practitioners) and hospitals in both areas. Prevalence was estimated as 18.3 per 100, 000 in eastern Toyama prefecture and 36.6 in the Hida. Prevalence in Hida was higher than that reported in Japan over all. There is a tendency for patients with M.D. to go to an ENT clinic not a general hospital, because M.D. does not cause death. The reasons for the high rate were suspected to be because Hida district is a relatively isolated area of medical care, and the response rate was 100%, and because we surveyed both ENT clinics and general hospitals. Few definitively diagnosed cases of M.D. were reported except in ENT departments. The results showed that a good method of evaluating the prevalence of definitively diagnosed cases of M.D. was to survey ENT departments only.