Abstract
Primary and secondary nation-wide surveys were designed to estimate the prevalence of Meniere's disease. In the primary survey, questionnaires were sent to 4, 038 clinics in hospitals with more than 200 beds throughout Japan; 1, 049 otolaryngology, 1, 834 internal medicine, 685 brain surgery, 262 neurology, 138 psychosomatic medicine and 10 geriatric medicine clinics. The questionnaire simply requested the number of patients with Meniere's disease in each clinic. To clarify the epidemiological picture of Meniere's disease, the secondary survey was carried out in the clinics which responded to the primary survey. The secondary survey included the name, sex, birth date and other necessary items. The primary and secondary nation-wide surveys reported a total of 7, 073 cases of Meniere's disease in Japan. The prevalence rate 5.8 per 100, 000, 1.6 times higher in female than in male. It was highest in the 6th decade, followed by the 5th, 4th and 7th.
