Serum Estradiol Correlates With Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo in Postmenopausal Women

A high incidence of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is reported in postmenopausal women, and the association between estradiol (E2) deficiency and the occurrence of BPPV was investigated.

Postmenopausal women with and without BPPV were included from 2016 to 2019, and 1-year follow-up was performed. Serum otolin-1 and E2 levels were assayed before the canalith repositioning treatment. Bone mineral density (BMD) was measured with a dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry scan. Receiver operating characteristic analysis was performed to determine the occurrence of BPPV, and Pearson analysis was performed to indicate the correlation between E2, otolin-1, and BMD.

Eighty-six postmenopausal women with BPPV and 80 age-, demographics-, and clinical characteristics-matched normal postmenopausal women were enrolled. Decreased E2 levels, increased otolin-1 levels, and decreased BMD were observed in postmenopausal women with BPPV, and increased BMD and decreased otolin-1 levels were observed in patients with higher levels of serum E2. Receiver operating characteristic analysis revealed that E2, otolin-1, and BMD showed low sensitivity and moderate specificity to determine the occurrence of BPPV. On the other hand, a low correlation coefficient was found between E2 and otolin-1, or BMD. It is worth noting that low E2 levels were found in the relapsed patients with BPPV after a 1-year follow-up.

E2 deficiency is correlated with the occurrence of BPPV, which may be a potential risk biomarker for postmenopausal women.