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Clinically observed chickenpox and the risk of childhood-onset multiple sclerosis

Yann Mikaeloff1, Guillaume Caridade, Samy Suissa

  • 1Service de Neurologie Pédiatrique, CHU Bicêtre, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Le Kremlin-Bicêtre Cedex, France. yann.mikaeloff@bct.aphp.fr

American Journal of Epidemiology
|March 31, 2009
PubMed

Insights

Clinically observed chickenpox appears to lower the risk of developing childhood-onset multiple sclerosis (MS). This population-based study in France found a reduced risk associated with chickenpox infection in children.

Area of Science:

  • Neurology
  • Epidemiology
  • Infectious Diseases

Background:

  • Childhood-onset multiple sclerosis (MS) is a significant neurological concern.
  • The role of common childhood infections, like chickenpox, in MS etiology remains an area of investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine if clinically observed chickenpox influences the risk of developing multiple sclerosis in childhood.
  • To investigate the association between chickenpox infection and the incidence of pediatric MS.

Main Methods:

  • A population-based case-control study was conducted in France.
  • 137 childhood MS cases (onset 1994-2003, before age 16) were matched with 1,061 controls.
  • Conditional logistic regression analyzed the association between chickenpox and MS, using questionnaires and health certificates for data verification.

Main Results:

  • Chickenpox had occurred in 76.6% of MS cases and 84.9% of controls.
  • An adjusted odds ratio of 0.58 (95% CI: 0.36, 0.92) indicated a lower risk of MS associated with chickenpox.
  • The findings suggest a protective effect of chickenpox against childhood-onset MS.

Conclusions:

  • Clinically observed chickenpox is associated with a reduced risk of developing multiple sclerosis in childhood.
  • This study provides evidence for an inverse relationship between chickenpox and pediatric MS in the studied French population.
  • Further research may explore the immunological mechanisms underlying this protective association.

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