Epidemiology
Primary (idiopathic) benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) has a peak incidence between 50 and 70 years of age, but can occur in any age group.[2] Migraine and head trauma are more common in younger patients with secondary BPPV compared with older patients with secondary disease.
A retrospective review of computerised medical records of patients seeking medical assistance for BPPV in the US found an incidence of 64 per 100,000 per year, increasing by 38% with each decade of life.[3] This translates into almost 200,000 new cases per year in the US.
A cross-sectional study of 100 unselected older patients presenting with non-balance-related chief complaints found a high rate of unrecognised BPPV, with a point prevalence of 9%.[4] A nationally representative cross-sectional European study estimating the prevalence and incidence of BPPV in the general adult population showed a lifetime prevalence of 2.4%.[5] The study found that females were more likely to be affected than males, with a lifetime prevalence of 3.2% versus 1.6%, respectively. The overall 1-year prevalence was 1.6% and the 1-year incidence was 0.6%. A study in Japan estimated the incidence of BPPV to be 10.7 to 17.3 per 100,000 per year.[6]
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