INTRODUCTION
Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV) is a peripheral vestibular
disorder presenting with momentary periods of vertigo on changes of
position of the sufferer’s head. It is the commonest cause of peripheral
vertigo, with an estimated lifetime prevalence of
2.4%.1 BPPV is also one of the most treatable causes
of vertigo, with the mainstay of treatment being repositioning
movements.2
Previous research has shown that BPPV is more common in certain
demographics. In particular, BPPV tends to be not only more common in
older age groups, but also elderly tend to have more episodes of
BPPV.3 Although BPPV is often easily treatable, some
patients suffer from persistent BPPV which is refractory to
repositioning manoeuvres.4 Patients can also have
recurrence of BPPV, with some studies finding up to 26% patients will
have a recurrence of their BPPV after initially successful repositioning
movements. Overall, given its high prevalence, BPPV can significantly
affect, at least temporarily, the performance status and the quality of
life of the affected individuals and can present significant burden to
every health system.
Considering how common BPPV is, there are mostly sporadic systematic
efforts to investigate the reasons behind recurrences as well as
persistent BPPV. Indeed, there are few studies which have attempted to
look for socioeconomic risk factors for BPPV, and even fewer which look
specifically at persistence and recurrence of BPPV.
The aims of our study were :
To identify any relationships between patient variables with
persistent or recurrent vertigo.
To identify determine any statistically significant relationship
between socioeconomic circumstances and rates of recurrent or
persistent BPPV.