Idiopathic intracranial hypertension. Relationship to depression, anxiety, and quality of life. Neurology 2000;54:319–324.

Abstract

Idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) is a condition of increased intracranial pressure of unknown etiology that occurs most frequently in obese women of childbearing age. The most common symptoms are headache, transient visual obscurations related to papilledema, pulsatile tinnitus and diplopia. This study was designed to assess the prevalence of depression and anxiety among women with IIH and to measure the quality of life in patients with this condition. A matched group cross-sectional study was conducted in which women with IIH (n = 28) were compared with control groups of weight- and age-matched women not diagnosed with IIH (n = 30) and with age-matched women of normal weight (n = 30). Eighty-eight women completed a questionnaire soliciting health information and standardized questionnaires measuring depression, anxiety, and quality of life. Patients with IIH reported a greater number of adverse health problems than either of the control groups. Non-health-related psychosocial concerns were equally prevalent among the three groups, but IIH patients were significantly more affected by hardships associated with health problems than the other two groups. The patient group also had higher levels of depression and anxiety than the control groups. These adverse health conditions were reflected in decreased quality of life measures for the IIH patients. This study supports previous reports that link obesity and psychosocial difficulties, but obesity alone is not the explanation for the higher levels of depression and lower levels of quality of life.—Nancy J. Newman