Vitamin D linked to decreased recurrence rates and dizziness handicap scores among patients of Vertigo: Study

Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo is the most frequent vestibular disorder, and it especially affects older adults. Symptoms related to it include brief spells of dizziness that may even be initiated just through a change in head position. BPPV is also not just a cause of discomfort; it is considered a major risk factor for falls and further severe injuries among elderly individuals. Previous studies had suggested that a deficiency in vitamin D might be associated with an increased recurrence of BPPV; however, evidence of the effectiveness of supplementation with vitamin D in reducing recurrence of BPPV was not established. This study was specifically designed to find out whether supplementation with vitamin D could definitely reduce the recurrence rates in elderly patients with BPPV as compared to a placebo.

This was a double-blinded, single-center, randomized controlled placebo trial in which all Vitamin D-deficient participants were randomized into two separate groups. Group A consisted of Vitamin D-deficient participants who were treated with supplementation of Vitamin D3. Group B consisted of Vitamin D-deficient participants but were given placebo. Group C consisted of Vitamin D-replete individuals in whom no intervention was performed. In the treatment group, the patients received 2000 IU/day of vitamin D3 in the first 13 weeks and then 1000 IU/day in the next 13 weeks. All groups received dietary intervention with adequate intake of vitamin D3 and calcium. The participants were followed up for 12 months concerning the recurrence rates of BPPV.

In this study, participants were followed up very closely for a period of 12 months in order to determine the effect that supplementation with vitamin D has on the recurrence of BPPV. The main measure of outcome in the research will be the rate of recurrence of BPPV attacks, with time to first recurrence and dizziness handicap scores being some of the secondary measures of outcome. This study is a double-blind test, meaning that neither the participants nor the researchers would know which category the participants fall into to avoid biases in the study.

• The results were considerable, with a gain of 87% reduction in the recurrence rates of BPPV in Group A compared to Group B. In other words, in Group A, there were 0.75 fewer clinical episodes of BPPV per person-year in the treated arm.

• The time to the first recurrence of BPPV was significantly longer in Group A, indicating the sustaining action of vitamin D supplementation. More importantly, recurrence rates and dizziness handicap scores did not differ statistically between the treatment and Group C controls, indicating that mere repletion of vitamin D is sufficient for reducing BPPV recurrence.

In this study, the results show that supplementation with vitamin D significantly lowers recurrence in BPPV among elderly persons by as much as 87% compared to placebo. The findings thus indicate that Vitamin D may actually act to reduce the fall rates by decreasing the dizziness-related incident rate among older adults. Supplementation of Vitamin D could thus be one of those promising strategies which enhances postural stability and lowers fall risk in this age group.

Reference

Chua, K. W. D., Huang, X., Koh, X. H., Soh, J. F. J. Y., Barrera, V. C., Anaikatti, P., Jing, D., Moh, S., Yeo, M., Yuen, H. W., Low, D., & Rosario, B. H. (2024). Randomized controlled trial assessing vitamin D’s role in reducing BPPV recurrence in older adults. Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery: Official Journal of American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. https://doi.org/10.1002/ohn.954