Association of peripheral vestibular disorder with human papillomavirus infections

Emerging research indicates that viral infections may contribute to the development of certain vestibular disorders. This study aimed to explore the association of peripheral vestibular disorders (PVDs) with human papillomavirus (HPV) using a comprehensive population-based dataset from Taiwan's Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2010.

We examined a cohort comprising 94,215 patients with a new diagnosis of PVDs and 471,075 propensity-score matched controls, utilizing propensity score matching. Multiple logistic regressions were carried out to evaluate the potential link between HPV infections and PVDs.

Results revealed a statistically significant higher prevalence of prior HPV infections in patients with PVDs (10.6%) than controls (7.7%). The adjusted odds ratio for prior HPV infections in patients with PVDs was 1.440 (95% CI = 1.407 ~ 1.474) compared to the controls. Additionally, we analyzed the association across different types of PVDs: Meniere's disease, benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, vestibular neuritis, and other peripheral vestibular disorders, with adjusted odds ratios of 1.342 (95% CI = 1.253 ~ 1.437), 1.445 (95% CI = 1.359 ~ 1.536), 1.484 (95% CI = 1.370 ~ 1.607), and 1.452 (95% CI = 1.410 ~ 1.494), respectively.

The findings of the present study suggest a noteworthy association between HPV infections and PVDs. These insights highlight the importance of further exploring the interplay between HPV and PVDs, which could potentially lead to novel preventative and therapeutic measures in public health.