# Serum Vitamin D Level and Clinical Risk Factors for Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo

## TL;DR

This study explores how vitamin D levels and health conditions like high blood pressure and diabetes may influence benign paroxysmal positional vertigo.

## Contribution

The study identifies vitamin D insufficiency and common comorbidities as potential contributors to BPPV onset and recurrence.

## Key findings

- Arterial hypertension and type 2 diabetes were the most prevalent comorbidities in BPPV patients.
- Idiopathic causes were most common in BPPV cases, with vitamin D insufficiency affecting 42.9% of participants.
- Low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were associated with BPPV and may influence its recurrence.

## Abstract

Objective: To identify the most prevalent comorbidities and the serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels that affect the onset and recurrence of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo.

Study design: This is a prospective cross-sectional descriptive study.

Setting: The study was conducted at Hospital Universitario "Jose Eleuterio Gonzalez" in Monterrey, Mexico.

Methods: A total of 117 patients over 18 years old who came for the first time to consultation complaining of dizziness and/or vertigo compatible with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo were included. Patients with positive vertiginous symptoms evoked with diagnostic test maneuvers were treated. A complete medical history was registered, the Dizziness Handicap Inventory was applied, and 25-hydroxyvitamin D serum levels were measured.

Results: From a total of 70 patients, the most prevalent comorbidities present were arterial hypertension (37.6%) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (29.1%). The most common cause of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo was idiopathic (67.5%), while in the secondary group, sudden neurosensorial hearing loss was the most common condition (6%). The mean average serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level was 23.07 ng/ml, and insufficiency (42.9%) was the most common serum level present in the population of the study.

Conclusions: The comorbidities identified in this study, along with the deficiency levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D, were factors associated with BPPV in our cohort and may have contributed to the onset and recurrence of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo; thus, we suggest that prospective studies should address this possible association and, if so, treat it to accomplish an effective treatment.