epidemiology

Last reviewed 01/2018

Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo is said to be the most commonly recognized vestibular disorder (1).

  • the incidence of benign positional vertigo has been estimatesd to be between 10.7 to 64 per 100,000 population per year
  • the life time prevalence is 2.4 (2)
  • most patients are older than 40 years (most commonly between the fifth and seventh decades of life) but all age groups can be affected.
  • women have double the incidence of men.
  • common causes of the disorder include (1)
    • vestibular neuronitis - in 10 percent of patients
    • head trauma - in 20 percent of patients .
  • in old age, the most common cause is degeneration of the vestibular system of the inner ear (3)
  • minor strokes and Ménière's disease are significant but unusual causes (3)
  • in most patients with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, there is no associated cause found

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