Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo – another benefit of vitamin D

Vitamin D deficiency predisposes to or worsens many different medical problems. I’ve written at least a dozen blog posts on vitamin D.

A group of South Korean researchers just published in the journal Neurology a study, Prevention of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo with vitamin D supplementation. A randomized trial.

They selected 518 patients with confirmed BPPV who were successfully treated with canalith repositioning maneuvers (Epley maneuver) and who had a vitamin D level below 20. The primary outcome measure was the annual recurrence rate. Patients in the intervention group were given vitamin D 400 IU and 500 mg of calcium carbonate twice a day for 1 year. Patients in the observation group were assigned to follow-ups without further vitamin D evaluation or supplementation.

The intervention group had a significant reduction in the treatment group compared to the observation group.

The authors concluded that supplementation of vitamin D and calcium may be considered in patients with frequent attacks of BPPV, especially when serum vitamin D is subnormal.

BPPV, dizziness, vertigo, difficulty with balance are more common in people with migraines. Keeping your vitamin D level at least in the middle of the normal range may help prevent all these symptoms as well as migraines and other neurological problems.