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Early life child exposure and the risk of multiple sclerosis: a population based study
Sreeram V Ramagopalan1, Colleen Guimond, David A Dyment
1Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Insights
Infant day care attendance does not appear to increase the risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS). This population-based study found no significant association between early childhood exposure to other infants and MS susceptibility.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Epidemiology
- Environmental Health
Background:
- The exact causes of multiple sclerosis (MS) are unknown, but genetic and environmental factors are implicated.
- Early life environmental exposures, such as contact with other children, are hypothesized to influence MS risk.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if attending infant day care is associated with an increased risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS).
Main Methods:
- A population-based cohort study was conducted using data from the Canadian Collaborative Project on Genetic Susceptibility to MS (CCPGSMS).
- Researchers compared the frequency of infant day care attendance between 379 MS cases and 101 spousal controls, all of whom were single children.
Main Results:
- No statistically significant difference in infant day care attendance was found between MS index cases and controls.
- Early childhood exposure to other infants through day care was not identified as a risk factor for MS in this cohort.
Conclusions:
- Infant day care attendance does not appear to be a significant risk factor for developing multiple sclerosis.
- Further research may explore other early life environmental exposures and their potential role in MS etiology.
Abstract:
The precise aetiology of multiple sclerosis (MS) is yet to be conclusively determined, but both genes and environment and interactions thereof are important. It has been suggested that early life child exposure influences MS susceptibility. Here, in a population-based cohort, we investigated whether infant day care attendance influences the subsequent risk to develop MS. We identified 379 MS index cases and 101 spousal controls, all of whom were a single child (i.e. they had no biological sibs, half-sibs, step-sibs, adopted sibs) from the Canadian Collaborative Project on Genetic Susceptibility to MS (CCPGSMS). Frequency of infant day care attendance was compared for index cases and controls and the results were not statistically significant. Exposure to other infants during early childhood thus does not appear to be a risk factor for MS.
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