Demographic profile of patients diagnosed with intracranial meningiomas in two academic hospitals in Johannesburg, South Africa: a 12-month prospective study.

BACKGROUND

Meningiomas are common brain tumours and display gender, racial and ethnic differences in their demographic profile. The demographic profile of our patients diagnosed with intracranial meningiomas is presented and compared with the literature.

OBJECTIVES

To determine the age, gender, racial and ethnic distribution of our patients diagnosed with intracranial meningiomas.

METHODS

Consecutive patients (48 in number) seen at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital (CMJAH) and Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital (CHBAH), Johannesburg, with histologically proven meningiomas over a 12 month period were recruited for the study.

RESULTS

Meningiomas accounted for 33.8% of all primary brain tumours. The mean age of patients was 45.7 ± 10.5 years with a female-to-male ratio of 3.8:1. The mean age for male patients was 39.3 ± 13.5 years while that of female patients was 47.4 ± 9.0 years. The peak age range at presentation was in the fifth (41.7%) decade. The highest frequency was among Black Africans (75%) and Sotho ethnic nationality (27.1%).

CONCLUSION

The study showed a female preponderance for intracranial meningiomas among our patients. Although intracranial meningiomas were more in frequency among Black Africans, the racial distribution mirrored our population distribution while the highest frequency was among Sotho ethnic nationality.