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HOME > J Korean Bal Soc > Volume 5(2); 2006 > Article
Practical Review Osteoporosis may be a Risk Factor of Idiopathic BPPV

DOI: https://doi.org/
Departments of Neurology1 and Otolaryngology Seoul National University Bundang Hospital
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Background
Despite the mechanism of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is well recognized, underlying causes of this common disorder remain unknown. The epidemiological link between middle-aged women and BPPV suggests osteoporosis as a cause of fragile otolith. Objective: The aim of this study was to elucidate an etiologic link between osteoporosis and idiopathic BPPV.
Methods
One hundred consecutive patients with a confirmed diagnosis of idiopathic BPPV at the Dizziness Clinic of Seoul National University Bundang Hospital underwent bone mineral densitometry (BMD) of anterior-posterior lumbar and femur using a dual X-ray absorptiometry system (Lunar EXPERT-XL). The T-scores were compared with those of 110 age and sex matched controls who had no history of dizziness and underwent BMD at the Health Promotion Center of the same hospital. Recurrence was defined when the patients reported more than two attacks of positional vertigo similar to those experienced at the time of diagnosis.
Results
The lowest T-scores of middle-aged women (45≤age<65) diagnosed as having BPPV were lower than those of age- and sex-matched controls (-1.89±0.90 vs -1.26±1.15, p<0.05). Also, osteopenia (T-score≤-1.5) was more common in the middle-aged women with BPPV than in age- and sex-matched controls (73 vs 47%, p<0.05). Furthermore, the T-scores were lower in the patients with recurrent BPPV than in the de novo cases (-1.95±1.10 vs -1.27±0.99, p<0.05) and severe osteoporosis (T-score≤-3.0) was more commonly observed in recurrent group than in de novo one (25% vs 0%, p<0.05).
Conclusions
Our results suggest that osteoporosis may be a risk factor of BPPV at least in the middle aged women and in recurrent cases. Measurement of bone mineral density and treatment of osteoporosis should be considered in BPPV in the middle-aged women or when recurrent. Key words: osteoporosis, benign paroxysmal positional vertigo


Res Vestib Sci : Research in Vestibular Science