Relationships between childhood trauma and multiple sclerosis: A systematic review

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), such as physical, emotional, and sexual abuse trigger inflammatory changes and have been associated with many causes of morbidity and mortality, including autoimmune diseases. Although Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a debilitating neurological autoimmune disease, literature linking ACEs and MS is understudied. The aim of this review was to examine the 1) state of the literature, and 2) relationships between childhood adversity and the prevalence and physical clinical features of MS (e.g., age at onset, relapses, pain, fatigue, disability).

A comprehensive search was preformed through five databases and by hand using the ancestry and descendancy approach for connections to papers published through January 20th, 2022. Studies were screened by independent reviewers using Rayyan.ai, and critically appraised for both quality and reporting transparency.

Twelve studies examined relationships between any ACE(s) and the prevalence or physical clinical features of MS. There was considerable variance in the measurement of stressors, confounders, and categorization of MS; however most studies (n = 10) demonstrated an association between ACEs and MS (alone or grouped with other similar diagnoses), or physical clinical features.

Although there are few studies in this area, it is of quickly growing interest. These results should be cautiously interpreted, yet highlight the need for continued work to disentangle and discern true associations.