Risk for persistent postural perceptual dizziness increases with vestibular conditions, study finds

Patients with multiple vestibular conditions have an increased risk for persistent postural perceptual dizziness (PPPD), according to study published online Oct. 27 in Audiology Research.

Valeria Gambacorta, M.D., from the University of Perugia in Italy, and colleagues analyzed the role of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), vestibular migraine (VM), and Ménière disease (MD) as single or multiple associated comorbidities and precipitating conditions for PPPD among 376 patients suffering from dizziness. A careful anamnesis was conducted to examine whether reported dizziness could meet the diagnostic criteria for PPPD.

The researchers diagnosed PPPD in 24 cases, with incidence rates of 3.9 and 22.4 percent among patients with a history of a single comorbidity or multiple vestibular comorbidities, respectively. In 2.34, 16.45, and 3.92 percent of cases, BPPV, VM, and MD, respectively, were identified as a precipitating condition. BPPV was a precipitating condition mainly at the first episode.

“Our study confirmed that PPPD may be preceded by episodic vestibular disorders such as VM, MD, and BPPV,” the authors write. “The most relevant data of the study were expressed by the significant role of VM in representing a precipitating condition for PPPD, both when present individually or in association with other vestibular disorders.”

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