Who does empty sella syndrome (ESS) affect?

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Who does empty sella syndrome (ESS) affect?

Though it’s rare, both children and adults can develop empty sella syndrome (ESS).

People assigned female at birth (AFAB) are four times more likely to have primary empty sella (PES) — not necessarily empty sella syndrome — than people assigned male at birth (AMAB).

PES most commonly occurs between the ages of 30 and 40 years old. It sometimes develops earlier in people AFAB than people AMAB.

People AFAB are even more likely to have PES if they’ve had a full-term pregnancy.

PES occurs less frequently in children than in adults. In these cases, it’s often associated with other conditions, including:

  • Turner syndrome.
  • Moyamoya disease.
  • Bartter’s syndrome.
  • Nevoid basal cell carcinoma syndrome.
  • Hunter syndrome.
  • Prader–Willi syndrome.
  • Alstrom syndrome.
  • Meniere’s Disease.
  • Erdheim–Chester disease.

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