Childhood body mass index and multiple sclerosis risk: a long-term cohort study

Background: Obesity in late adolescence has been associated with an increased risk of multiple sclerosis (MS); however, it is not known if body size in childhood is associated with MS risk. Methods: Using a prospective design we examined whether body mass index (BMI) at ages 7–13 years was associate...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Multiple sclerosis 2013-09, Vol.19 (10), p.1323-1329
Main Authors: Munger, Kassandra L, Bentzen, Joan, Laursen, Bjarne, Stenager, Egon, Koch-Henriksen, Nils, Sørensen, Thorkild IA, Baker, Jennifer L
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Biological and medical sciences
Body Mass Index
Child
Cohort Studies
Degenerative and inherited degenerative diseases of the nervous system. Leukodystrophies. Prion diseases
Female
Humans
Male
Medical sciences
Multiple Sclerosis - epidemiology
Multiple Sclerosis - etiology
Multiple sclerosis and variants. Guillain barré syndrome and other inflammatory polyneuropathies. Leukoencephalitis
Neurology
Obesity - complications
Risk Factors
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Summary:Background: Obesity in late adolescence has been associated with an increased risk of multiple sclerosis (MS); however, it is not known if body size in childhood is associated with MS risk. Methods: Using a prospective design we examined whether body mass index (BMI) at ages 7–13 years was associated with MS risk among 302,043 individuals in the Copenhagen School Health Records Register (CSHRR). Linking the CSHRR with the Danish MS registry yielded 774 MS cases (501 girls, 273 boys). We used Cox proportional hazards models to estimate the hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: Among girls, at each age 7–13 years, a one-unit increase in BMI z-score was associated with an increased risk of MS (HRage 7=1.20, 95% CI: 1.10–1.30; HRage 13=1.18, 95% CI: 1.08–1.28). Girls who were ≥95th percentile for BMI had a 1.61–1.95-fold increased risk of MS as compared to girls
ISSN:1352-4585
1477-0970
DOI:10.1177/1352458513483889