Acrophobia
or fear of heights is a specific phobia according to the Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V). Its life-time prevalence rangesfrom 3.1 to 6.4%. There is a continuum of severity ranging from acrophobia to a
less distressing visual height intolerance (vHI), to which the categorical
distinction of a specific phobia does not apply, but which may also cause medically
relevant restrictions.
In a cross-sectional epidemiological study on 3,517
individuals representative of the general populationthe lifetime prevalence of
vHI was found to be 28%. It was higher in women (32%) than in men (25%) and
increased with age. The main symptoms of vHI are fearfulness, a queezy-stomach
feeling, subjective postural instability with to-and-fro vertigo, inner
agitation, and vegetative symptoms as well as weakness in the knees, palpitations,
sudden sweating, light-headedness, and tremor. Read more>>>>>>>>>>>>>
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