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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Kathryn Bush
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
© The Author(s) 2026. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage). This study measures the incidence and prevalence of idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) in children in Wales and assesses risk factors and health care utilisation. We identified 177 children (1-15 years) with IIH diagnosed between 2003 and 2017. Incidence increased from 1.6/100 000 per year (2003) to 3.5/100 000 per year (2017). Sixty-three percent of the cases were girls, and 87% were diagnosed between 7 and 15 years. Children in the most deprived quintile were more likely to develop IIH compared to children in the least deprived quintile (odds ratio [OR] = 1.7 [95%CI = 1.1-2.9]). Obese and overweight children were more likely to develop IIH compared with non-overweight children (ORs = 21 [95%CI = 9-51] and 5.1 [95%CI = 1.9-14]). Children with IIH had higher hospital admission rates than children without IIH (rate ratio = 3.9; 95% CI 3.6-4.3). The increasing incidence, association with BMI and deprivation, and increased health care utilisation in children with IIH are relevant findings to health care professionals and policy makers.
Author(s): Azad Khan R, Strafford H, Fonferko-Shadrach B, Bush K, Powell R, White C, Lacey A, Pickrell WO
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Journal of Child Neurology
Year: 2026
Pages: Epub ahead of print
Online publication date: 17/04/2026
Acceptance date: 10/03/2026
Date deposited: 06/05/2026
ISSN (print): 0883-0738
ISSN (electronic): 1708-8283
Publisher: SAGE Publications Inc.
URL: https://doi.org/10.1177/08830738261436139
DOI: 10.1177/08830738261436139
Data Access Statement: The data used in this study are not publicly available because proposals to access the SAIL Databank are subject to review by an independent Information Governance Review Panel (IGRP) to ensure compliance with data protection laws.
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