Is Childhood trauma linked to a heightened risk of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in later life among women? Well, a study published in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry establishes this.
Further, the study notes that the risk is heightened for sexual abuse and for experience of several categories of abuse. The authors claim that childhood trauma can alter immune system and may increase the risk of autoimmune disease. Abuse, neglect, and a chaotic home life are also associated with a heightened risk of poor mental and physical health in adulthood. But it is not known if these experiences might also increase susceptibility to MS.
THE STUDY
Nearly 78,000 pregnant women joined the study between 1999 and 2008, and their health was monitored until the end of 2018. The researchers used questionnaire for gather information on childhood abuse before the age of 18 and the confirmation of MS diagnoses was obtained from linked national health registry data and hospital records.
In all, 14 477 women said they had experienced childhood abuse while 63,520 said they had not, the authors said. Moreover, they found that women with a history of abuse were more likely to be current or former smokers-a known risk factor for MS-to be overweight, and to have depressive symptoms.
Some 300 women were diagnosed with MS during the monitoring period, nearly one in four of whom (71:24%) said they had been abused as children compared with around 1 in 5 (14,406:19%) of those who didn’t develop MS (17,697).
RISK FACTORS
The study notes that the risk was strongest for sexual abuse (65 per cent heightened risk), followed by emotional abuse (40 per cent heightened risk), and physical abuse (31 per cent heightened risk).
The risk was further increased for exposure to two categories of abuse (66% heightened risk), rising to 93% for exposure to all three categories, indicating a ‘dose-response association, suggest the researchers.
The authors said that this was only an observational study, and as such cannot establish cause. They pointed out that other environmental factors, such as diet, nutrition, physical activity levels, and parental smoking, which weren’t accounted for might all be independently important.
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