Geographic Variation in Prevalence of IIH Is Tied to Obesity

Objective: To describe the regional prevalence of idiopathic intracranial hypertension. (IIH) in the United States. Design: Retrospective cross-sectional study. Methods: Data sources for this study included Medicaid, the American Academy of Ophthalmology IRIS ® electronic health record (EHR) registry, and the U.S. Census Bureau. Female Medicaid beneficiaries and individuals in the EHR registry with a diagnosis of IIH and an active prescription for an oral carbonic anhydrase inhibitor were identified. Extrapolation of these data using U.S. Census Bureau population statistics allowed estimation of the prevalence of IIH in each state. Validation of the methodology was performed by comparing their results to those from the Rochester Epidemiology Project that determined regional IIH prevalence in Olmsted County, Minnesota. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s state-specific obesity statistics were also compared to the state-specific estimates of IIH prevalence. Results: Based on t more...