Childhood infections, stress may increase MS risk: Study
Study shows exercise associated with lower risk
Infections and stressful life events in childhood may increase the risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS), while childhood exercise is associated with lower MS risk, according to a study.
The findings, part of the German National Cohort (NAKO) population study, imply that programs to encourage physical activity and prevent infections in childhood may help lower the risk of developing MS later in life, researchers said.
The study, “The relation of multiple sclerosis to family history, lifestyle, and health factors in childhood and adolescence: Findings of a case–control study nested within the German National Cohort (NAKO) Study,” was published in Deutsches Arzteblatt.
“The causes of MS are still mostly unknown,” study co-author Heiko Becher, PhD, an epidemiologist and biostatistician at Heidelberg University Hospital in Germany, said in a NAKO news story. “Some studies suggest that environmental and lifestyle factors can induce the development of disease in genetically predisposed people. Known risk factors include a genetic predisposition, an infection with the Epstein-Barr virus, a vitamin D deficiency, smoking and obesity. Influences from childhood and adolescence have so far been less well studied.”
MS is an inflammatory disorder that typically develops during adulthood, but an emerging body of research suggests that certain exposures during childhood may be risk factors for the disease. For example, childhood infection with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a well-established MS risk factor.
Comparing childhood exposures to predict MS risk
The researchers compared childhood exposures in a group of 576 people with MS and 895 people without MS who were matched by sex and age. Using statistical models, the researchers looked for childhood factors that were significantly more common in the MS patients.
The results identified several well-established risk factors, such as EBV infection and obesity, but some other notable factors turned up as well. Data indicated that childhood infections increased the risk for MS by 14% per event, and stressful life events increased the risk by 25% per event. People born to a mother aged 30 or older were more than twice as likely to develop MS.
In contrast, more physical activity during childhood and adolescence was associated with a statistically significant decrease in the risk of MS.
The findings could have implications for clinical care, the researchers said.
“Our results underline the relevance of existing preventive measures in the context of other non-communicable diseases – for example to prevent childhood infectious diseases, to encourage healthy eating habits or to motivate people to be active,” said Anja Holz, study co-author and a research fellow at University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf. “These could also be promising strategies in MS prevention.”
Physical activity is a “particularly impressive example” of such a strategy, Holz said. “Current studies show that exercise in adulthood can act as a protective factor against MS. Targeted physical activity programs in adolescence might also potentially help to lower the risk of MS.”
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