Bone Mineral Density Measurement Study of Relationship between BPPV and Osteoporosis in Vertigo Patients: Comparative Study between BPPV and Patients with Other Peripheral Vestibular Disorders

• Published in: Equilibrium Research Vol. 65; no. 2; pp. 122 - 128
• Main Authors: Arai, Motohiro, Takahashi, Naokazu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Japan Society for Equilibrium Research 2006
• Subjects: bone mineral density measurement; BPPV; comparative study; osteoporosis; peripheral vestibular disorders
• ISSN: 0385-5716; 1882-577X
• DOI: 10.3757/jser.65.122

Benign paroxymal positional vertigo (BPPV) so-called canalolithiasis and cupulolithiasis, usually occurs after head trauma or viral vestibular neuritis. The first aim of this study was to investigate the difference in bone mineral density measurement between BPPV and patients with other peripheral vestibular disorders, and the second aim was to study a possible relationship between BPPV and osteoporosis. This study included forty patients, consisting of 16 women and 24 men. Sixteen patients comprised 10 pre-menopausal women whose median age was 37.4±7.4 and 6 post-menopausal women whose median age was 52.2±1.9. Twenty-four patients consisted of 9 middle aged men whose median age was 41.6±11.2 and 15 older men whose median age was 73.7±7. The diagnosis of osteoporosis was confirmed by bone mineral density measurement via dual x-ray absorptiometry of the radius bone. BPPV was compared with other peripheral vestibular disorders using bone mineral density measurement. Our results showed the level of calcium in female BPPV patients was not significantly lower than that in age-matched with other peripheral disorders patients. However, the level of calcium in male BPPV patients was significantly lower than that in age-matched male patients with other peripheral disorders (p<0.01). These data show that bone mineral density measurement in vertigo men patients is useful not only to predict the stage of osteoporosis but also to prevent BPPV.