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Childhood overweight or obesity increases the risk of IIH recurrence fivefold

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Abstract

Overweight and obesity are less closely associated with idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) in young children than in post-pubescent children and adults. We examined the hypothesis that being overweight or obese (body mass index (BMI) ⩾85th percentile) in children is a risk factor for IIH recurrence. A total of 43 children with IIH who were followed up for an average of 9±3.4 years were evaluated in a retrospective case–control series. The rate of IIH recurrence was compared between children of healthy weight and children presenting with overweight or obesity, using survival curve analysis. The overall risk for long-term IIH recurrence in children is ~20%. Following weight stratification, the risk for IIH recurrence in our cohort was fivefold higher in children with a BMI ⩾85th percentile (57%) than in healthy weight children (11%; log-rank test P=0.04). Pediatricians may consider counseling families that weight control may be a means of decreasing the risk of IIH recurrence.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ophthalmology, Rabin Medical Center, Petah Tikva, Israel

    H Stiebel-Kalish, I Serov, R Sella & M Snir

  2. Department of Ophthalmology, Neuro-Ophthalmology Unit, Rabin Medical Center, Petah Tikva, Israel

    H Stiebel-Kalish

  3. Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

    H Stiebel-Kalish, I Serov, R Sella & M Snir

  4. Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

    G Chodick

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  1. H Stiebel-Kalish
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  2. I Serov
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  3. R Sella
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  4. G Chodick
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  5. M Snir
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Correspondence to H Stiebel-Kalish.

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Stiebel-Kalish, H., Serov, I., Sella, R. et al. Childhood overweight or obesity increases the risk of IIH recurrence fivefold. Int J Obes 38, 1475–1477 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2014.44

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2014.44

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