Epidemiology

Abstract

The prevalence of syringomyelia varies widely in different geographic regions and between ethnic groups, and in this chapter the epidemiology and natural history of syringomyelia is presented, including that caused by Chiari malformations, post-traumatic syringomyelia, non-traumatic arachnoiditis and idiopathic syringomyelia. The clinical course of the disease, age at presentation, prevalence of symptomatic versus asymptomatic patients, life expectancy, mortality and inheritance of Chiari malformation are also discussed.