Serum vitamin D and recurrent benign paroxysmal positional vertigo.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of the present study was to examine the effects of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations on patients diagnosed with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) on BPPV recurrence.

STUDY DESIGN: Case series.

METHODS: A retrospective review of 232 patients diagnosed with BPPV visiting the clinic between June 2014 and June 2015 was performed. All patients underwent a complete otolaryngological, audiologic, and neurologic evaluation. The appropriate particle-repositioning maneuver was performed depending on the type of BPPV. The patients were divided into the recurrence group and the nonrecurrence group. Age, gender, follow-up period, type of BPPV, and vitamin D concentrations in the two groups were compared and analyzed through binary logistic regression analyses.

RESULTS: The average follow-up period after treatment was 10.2 months. Forty-one (17.7%) of 232 patients suffered a recurrence during the follow-up period. The mean vitamin D concentration of 191 patients who did not suffer any recurrence was 16.63 ng/mL, whereas that of 41 patients who suffered a recurrence was 13.64 ng/mL. This difference in vitamin D concentrations was statistically significant ( P  < 0.019). The patients' age, gender, follow-up period, and type of BPPV had no statistically significant impact.

CONCLUSION: Vitamin D is assumed to affect BPPV as a recurrence factor independent of age, gender, follow-up period, and type of BPPV.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 4.