Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension in Men

Men with IIH are more likely than women to have serious visual loss and to be diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea but less likely to have other symptoms.

Most patients with idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) are young, obese women, but the disorder also can occur in men. Bruce and colleagues retrospectively reviewed data on 721 consecutive patients seen in three institutions and compared the characteristics of the 66 men (9%) with those of the 655 women (91%).

Many characteristics of IIH were similar in men and women: mean age, race, body-mass index (recorded in 67%), precipitating medication use, elevations of CSF opening pressure, and treatments. However, men were less likely to report headache (55% vs. 75% at symptom onset; 79% vs. 89% at first neuro-ophthalmology visit) and to present with pulse-synchronous tinnitus (38% vs. 26%). Men were more likely to have received diagnoses of…

Reviewing Author

Kathleen Digre, MD