Climatic variations and pollution on benign paroxysmal positional vertigo in Kars, Türkiye

Mustafa Mert Basaran; Levent Sahin

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2023.116985

Climatic variations and pollution on benign paroxysmal positional vertigo in Kars, Türkiye

Environ Res. 2023 Nov 15;237(Pt 1):116985. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.116985. Epub 2023 Aug 23.

Authors

Mustafa Mert Basaran¹, Levent Sahin²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Kafkas University, Faculty of Medicine, Kars, 36000, Turkey. Electronic address: mbasaran88@gmail.com.
² Department of Emergency Medicine, Kafkas University, Faculty of Medicine, Kars, 36000, Turkey.

PMID: 37625533
DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.116985

Abstract

Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is the most common diagnosis for peripheral vertigo. Although pathophysiological mechanisms remain unclear, BPPV is mostly idiopathic and factors related to BPPV are still being investigated. Knowing these factors can contribute to the prevention and management of BPPV. In this study, we investigated the correlations between climatic variations, pollution, and BPPV retrospectively. 262 patients diagnosed with BPPV between 2019 and 2021 in Kars, Türkiye, were included in our study. Meteorological parameters were obtained from Turkish State Meteorological Service. Horizontal BPPV increased significantly with the humidity (p < 0.05). In addition, carbon monoxide levels significantly increased the potantial of BPPV (p < 0.05). Surprisingly, BPPV increased in the summertime and showed a significant relationship with humidity. We believe this change is related with the city-specific features as it is the coldest place in the country, emigrant province and crowded in the summer times.

Keywords: Air; Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo; Climate; Pollution; Vertigo; Weather.