DO SEASONAL VARIATIONS HAVE ANY IMPACT ON THE INCIDENCE OF BENIGN PAROXYSMAL POSITIONAL VERTIGO?
1Sancaktepe Şehit Profesör Doktor İlhan Varank Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi, Kulak Burun Boğaz Anabilim Dalı, İstanbul, Turkey Objective: The objective of the present study is to investigate the hypothesized association between seasonal variations and the incidence of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV).Method: The study was conducted in the "Vestibular System Laboratory" of our otorhinolaryngology department between June 1st, 2021, and May 31st, 2022. We excluded patients who showed abnormal findings during their otoscopic examination. The Dix-Hallpike maneuver, supine roll test, and head-hanging test were utilized for the diagnosis of BPPV. Epley, Semont, barbeque roll, Guffoni, and Yacavino maneuvers were performed for the treatment.
Results: A total of 1,650 patients were included in our study. Of all patients, 69.9% (n: 1,153) were female and 30.1% (n: 497) were male. Among the female patients, the incidence of BPPV was 17.7% (n: 204). The percentage of patients diagnosed with BPPV was 20.9% (n: 104) in the male group. The incidence of BPPV was found to be unaffected by seasonal variations both in the female (p=0.806) and the male (p=0.468) patient groups. The number of BPPV detections was not different among the months of the year in men (p=0.794) or women (p=0.615). When the total of the patients was evaluated, there was no difference in the number of monthly BPPV detections (p=0.475).
Conclusion: The seasonal variations throughout the year were found to have no impact on the incidence of BPPV in the present study. However, when the female and male patients were compared, the incidence of BPPV was found to be significantly higher in the female group.
Keywords : Dynamic positional tests, seasonal variation, month, peripheral vertigo