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PERSPECTIVE ARTICLE

Vestibular migraine and anxiety disorders: Comorbidity mechanisms, clinical impacts, and comprehensive management

Daopei Zhang1 ,  Huailiang Zhang1 ,  Min Zhao1*
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1 Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Chinese Medicine, Zhengzhou, Henan, China
JCBP, 026030002 https://doi.org/10.36922/JCBP026030002
Received: 13 January 2026 | Revised: 13 February 2026 | Accepted: 26 February 2026 | Published online: 22 April 2026
© 2026 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
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Abstract

The comorbidity rate of vestibular migraine in individuals with anxiety disorders is as high as 30–50%, which is significantly higher than that in the general population. The shared mechanisms are centered on abnormalities in the 5-hydroxytryptamine system and vestibular–trigeminal–limbic system interactions. This comorbidity leads to symptom exacerbation, treatment difficulty, and decreased quality of life. Treatment should target vestibular migraine and anxiety, with comprehensive interventions that combine medications and non-pharmacological approaches, with an emphasis on multidisciplinary collaboration.

Keywords
Vestibular migraine
Anxiety disorders
Comorbidity
Clinical impacts
Management
Funding
This study is supported by Special Project for Scientific Research of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Henan Province (Grant No.: 2023ZY2023).
Conflict of interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
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Journal of Clinical and Basic Psychosomatics, Electronic ISSN: 2972-4414 Print ISSN: 3060-8562, Published by AccScience Publishing
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