Psychological Well-Being, Neuroticism, and the Risk of Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo: A Triangulation Study

Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is frequently accompanied by psychiatric and psychological comorbidities. However, the causal direction underlying the association between mental health traits and BPPV remains actively debated. We aimed to investigate the relationship between psychological well-being, neuroticism, and BPPV risk using a comprehensive triangulation framework.

If the causal relationship is confirmed, audiologists and vestibular specialists should consider screening for psychological distress and neuroticism as potential risk factors when managing or counselling BPPV patients, though results should be replicated before changing standard practice.

Establishing a causal psychological pathway to BPPV could open new prevention and management avenues that integrate mental health screening into vestibular care.

1. 01Triangulation design combines multiple analytic approaches to strengthen causal inference beyond correlation.
2. 02Study targets psychological well-being and neuroticism as potential causal risk factors for BPPV.
3. 03BPPV is the most common cause of positional dizziness and a frequent presenting complaint in audiology/vestibular clinics.
4. 04Published in Brain & Behavior (DOI: 10.1002/brb3.71569); PMID 42418477.
5. 05Findings could support integrating mental health screening into vestibular patient workups.

PMID

42418477

DOI

10.1002/brb3.71569.

Journal

Brain & Behavior

Publication type

research_article

Evidence level

2b

Population

General population participants with data on psychological well-being, neuroticism, and BPPV diagnosis

Intervention

Exposure: psychological well-being and neuroticism traits

Comparator

Individuals without low psychological well-being or high neuroticism