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. 2025 Apr 3;167(1):98.
doi: 10.1007/s00701-025-06506-7.

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

Eddie de Dios  1   2 , Olivia Näslund  3   4 , Mansor Choudhry  5 , Marcus Berglund  5 , Thomas Skoglund  3   6 , Darko Sarovic  5   7   8 , Lina Rydén  9 , Silke Kern  9   10 , Ingmar Skoog  9 , Erik Thurin  5   3
Affiliations

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

Eddie de Dios et al. Acta Neurochir (Wien). .

Abstract

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.

Keywords: Asymptomatic meningioma; Brain imaging; Cohort study; Conservative treatment; Incidence; Incidental meningioma.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethical approval: This study was conducted according to the Helsinki Declaration and approved by the Regional Ethical Review Board in Gothenburg (approval numbers: 869–13, T076-14, T166-14, 976–13, 127–14, T936-15, 006–14, T703-14, 006–14, T201-17, T915-14, 959–15, T139-15), and by the Radiation Protection Committee (approval number: 13–64). Study participants provided written informed consent prior to any examinations related to the study. If a participant was unable to provide consent, for instance due to dementia, consent was obtained from a close relative. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests. Human ethics and consent to participate declarations: This study was conducted according to the Helsinki Declaration and approved by the Regional Ethical Review Board in Gothenburg (approval numbers: 869–13, T076-14, T166-14, 976–13, 127–14, T936-15, 006–14, T703-14, 006–14, T201-17, T915-14, 959–15, T139-15), and by the Radiation Protection Committee (approval number: 13–64). Study participants provided written informed consent prior to any examinations related to the study. If a participant was unable to provide consent, for instance due to dementia, consent was obtained from a close relative.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flow-chart of patient selection
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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