Assessment of vitamin D deficiency in recurrent BPPV patients: A cross-sectional study

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the vitamin D deficiency of patients with BPPV recurrence and to evaluate the differences of 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25(OH) D) and serum calcium levels among gender and age categories. Methods: This cross-sectional study enrolled patients with BPPV. The diagnosis of BPPV was based on positional nystagmus and vertigo induced by certain head positions (The Dix-Hallpike maneuver and head roll tests). All patients' age, serum 25(OH)D, calcium measurements and recurrence data were collected and analyzed. Results: The median of 25(OH)D was 15.32 (IQR 10.61, 20.90) ng/ml. The recurrent group showed lower 25(OH)D levels than that of non-recurrent group [13.28 (IQR 9.47, 17.57) ng/ml vs 16.21 (IQR 11.49, 21.13) ng/ml]. There were significant differences of 25(OH)D levels among age categories. The proportion of vitamin D deficiency in patients >= 60 years old was lower than that in the other two groups. Conclusion: Our study suggested that BPPV patients had a decreased 25(OH)D level and a high incidence of vitamin D deficiency. The 25(OH)D level of recurrent BPPV patients was lower than that in non-recurrent ones. Among them, the elderly group (>= 60 years) took the preponderance, which had the lowest incidence of vitamin D deficiency and the highest incidence of vitamin D sufficiency.