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Adverse Childhood Experiences Are Linked to Age of Onset and Reading Recognition in Multiple Sclerosis
Michael T Shaw1, Natalie O Pawlak1, Ariana Frontario2
1Department of Neurology, NYU Langone Medical Center, New York, NY, United States.
Background:
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) exert a psychological and physiological toll that increases risk of chronic conditions, poorer social functioning, and cognitive impairment in adulthood.
Objective:
To investigate the relationship between childhood adversity and clinical disease features in multiple sclerosis (MS).
Methods:
Sixty-seven participants with MS completed the ACE assessment and neuropsychological assessments as part of a larger clinical trial of cognitive remediation.
Results:
Adverse childhood experience scores, a measure of exposure to adverse events in childhood, significantly predicted age of MS onset (r = -0.30, p = 0.04). ACEs were also linked to reading recognition (a proxy for premorbid IQ) (r = -0.25, p = 0.04). ACE scores were not related to age, current disability, or current level of cognitive impairment measured by the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT).
Conclusion:
Childhood adversity may increase the likelihood of earlier age of onset and poorer estimated premorbid IQ in MS.
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