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Risk factors
By Mayo Clinic staffThe following factors have been associated with pseudotumor cerebri:
Obesity
Pseudotumor cerebri occurs in about one person per 100,000 in the general public. Obese women under the age of 44 are nearly 20 times more likely to develop the disorder.
Medications
Substances that have been linked to pseudotumor cerebri include:
- Lithium
- Oral contraceptives
- Tetracycline
- Steroids or discontinuation of steroids
- Excess vitamin A
Health problems
The following conditions and diseases have been linked to pseudotumor cerebri:
- Head injury
- Kidney disease
- Lupus
- Lyme disease
- Mononucleosis
- Underactive parathyroid glands
- NINDS pseudotumor cerebri information page. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/pseudotumorcerebri/pseudotumorcerebri.htm. Accessed Sept. 22, 2008.
- Stebbins GT, et al. Headache. In Goetz CG. Textbook of Clinical Neurology. 3rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/105339567-3/0/1488/451.html?tocnode=53805161&fromURL=451.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-3618-0..10053-0--s0290_4630. Accessed Sept. 22, 2008.
- Kwiatkowski T, et al. Headache. In: Marx JA. Rosen's Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice. 3rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Mosby Elsevier; 2006. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/105359053-3/750608143/1365/305.html#4-u1.0-B0-323-02845-4..50106-2--cesec45_5292. Accessed Sept. 22, 2008.
- Chapman K, et al. Idiopathic intracranial hypertension (pseudotumor cerebri) in children. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Sept. 22, 2008.
- What is IH? Intracranial Hypertension Research Foundation. http://www.ihrfoundation.org/intracranial/hypertension/info/C16. Accessed Sept. 23, 2008.
- Neurological diagnostic tests and procedures. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/misc/diagnostic_tests.htm. Accessed Sept. 23, 2008.
- Daniels AB, et al. Profiles of obesity, weight gain and quality of life in idiopathic intracranial hypertension (pseudotumor cerebri). American Journal of Ophthalmology. 2007;143(4):635-41.
