Research in Vestibular Science

Original Article

The Periodic Fluctuation of Intra-Annual Distribution of Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo and Meteorological Parameters: Chae Dong Yim, Ki Ju Cho, Hyun Jin Lee, Dong Gu Hur, Rock-Bum Kim, Seong-Ki Ahn; Res Vestib Sci. 2020;19(3):99-103. Published online September 15, 2020; DOI: https://doi.org/10.21790/rvs.2020.19.3.99

Abstract PDF: Objectives
The influence of specific meteorological conditions, such as solar radiation quantity, duration of sunshine, and their covariation on the incidence of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) has been rarely investigated. Aiming at better predictions of the monthly variation of BPPV, we investigated variations in the monthly incidence of BPPV patients and meteorological parameters.
Methods
A total of 2,111 patients who had been diagnosed with BPPV at one institution were analyzed retrospectively. Monthly counts of BPPV patients were analyzed for incidence distributions throughout the 5 years. The relationship between intra-annual distribution of BPPV and meteorological parameters was compared by the time series analysis.
Results
The lowest monthly incidence of BPPV patients was found in September and the highest monthly incidence was found in December. Statistically, as a result of the time series analysis, a periodic fluctuation of both quantity of solar radiation (p=0.004) and percentage of sunshine duration (p=0.002) was identified, but a periodic fluctuation of both number of BPPV patients (p=0.316) and sunshine duration (p=0.057) was not identified.
Conclusions
Unlike previous studies, the results of time series analysis did not confirm that there is a periodic fluctuation in the incidence of BPPV patients. The incidence of BPPV may be more affected by other factors than by meteorological parameters.

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