A new study has reported that obesity may lead to debilitating headaches that could develop into blindness, as the rates of obesity continue to rise worldwide.
Additionally, a new study mentions that an increasing number of individuals are developing a type of headache associated with weight gain, which could potentially result in blindness—a condition that was previously considered very rare. Although the study was conducted at the University of Wales in the UK, an American expert stated that a similar increase in headache cases is likely occurring in the UK and other parts of the world. However, he cautioned that just because someone is obese and experiences severe headaches does not necessarily mean they are suffering from this rare headache known as idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH).
Obesity and Its Effects on the Brain
Dr. Brian Grossberg, director of the Hartford HealthCare Headache Center in Connecticut, indicated that individuals who are obese are more prone to recurrent migraines. The study noted that the rates of idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) increased six-fold in Wales between 2003 and 2017, rising from 12 cases per 100,000 people to 76 cases per 100,000 people. During the same 15-year period, obesity rates in Wales escalated from 29% of the population to nearly 40%.
William Owen Pickrell, the study's author and a consultant neurologist at Swansea University, stated that the significant increase in cases of idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) has several causes, but the most prominent is the rising rates of obesity. He added: "Unfortunately, the prevalence of obesity worldwide has nearly tripled between 1975 and 2016, and thus, these findings have global significance."
It is important to note that idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) is a type of headache that occurs when fluid accumulates around the brain and spinal cord in the skull, putting additional pressure on the brain and the optic nerve at the back of the eyes, causing symptoms that can mimic those of a brain tumor, such as debilitating headaches, blind spots, and potentially vision loss.
The study also found that individuals with idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) were more likely to seek emergency hospitalization compared to their peers without this condition, with 9% requiring brain surgery to prevent blindness. Notably, the greatest concern surrounding these headaches is the risk of vision loss, which likely explains the increased rates of emergency hospital admissions observed in the new study among individuals with idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH).
