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[This article belongs to Volume - 70, Issue - 10]
Published on : 2025-10-12 21:23:33
Article Code: AMJ-12-10-2025-12350
Title : Determinants of Paroxysmal Vertigo in Urban-Dwelling Older Adults: Findings from the Malaysian Elders Longitudinal Research (MELoR) Study
Author(s) : Dr. Fatou Ndiaye
Abstract :
Background: Paroxysmal Vertigo (PV) negatively affects life quality and increases in prevalence with age, but the risk
factors remain inconclusive. Objective: The present study aimed to investigate the risk factors of PV among a multi
ethnic urban population in late mid-life and late life within a middle-income Southeast-Asian country. Methods:
Cross-sectional data from the first wave of the Malaysian Elders Longitudinal Research (MELoR) study were utilized
for this study involving randomly sampled participants aged 55 years and over. Socio-demographics, comorbidities,
and psychological status were obtained through home-based computer-assisted interviews. Results: Based on an
analysis of 1530 participants, mean age (SD) = 68.81 (7.49), 64.9% female; 32.9% Malay, 34.6% Chinese), the lifetime
prevalence of PV was 12.1%. The risk factors associated based on multivariate analysis were hypertension,
osteoarthritis, depression, and vitamin B12 Deficiency. Chinese ethnicity (OR = 0.582; 95% CI = 0.390 to 0.870) and
smoking (OR = 0.377; 95% CI = 0.223 to 0.637) were protective factors against PV. Conclusions: While the risk factors
reported are similar to other studies, the lower prevalence of PV among ethnic Chinese and smokers had not
previously been reported. Our study highlighted potential genetic and lifestyle links to PV which should be evaluated
in future studies.