Prevalence and symptoms of incidental meningiomas: a population-based study.

BACKGROUND

Meningioma is the most common intracranial primary neoplasm and is often discovered accidentally. Common and non-specific symptoms such as headache and dizziness may be wrongfully attributed to meningiomas, which can lead to unnecessary surgery and anxiety for the patient. Understanding the prevalence of meningioma is therefore pivotal to assess the burden of this disease and determine indications for surgery.

METHOD: Participants in this study were recruited through "The Gothenburg H70 Birth cohort study" wherein the health of 70-year-olds is examined. Clinical characteristics and symptoms such as sex, body mass index, history of smoking, previous head trauma, previous seizure, headache, dizziness, dementia, and life quality were evaluated. The associations between these variables and the presence of meningioma on MRI were determined.

RESULTS

MRI examinations were collected from 792 participants (415 [52.4%] women) in "The Gothenburg H70 Birth cohort study". The prevalence of meningioma was 1.8% (n = 14). Meningiomas were more common in women (n = 12) than men, but no other significant differences were observed between participants with and without meningiomas.

CONCLUSIONS

Meningiomas are common among older women, yet often asymptomatic. Caution should be exercised when attributing symptoms to incidentally discovered small meningiomas, and a conservative approach to treatment may be warranted in these cases.