BMI, but not age at puberty, related to the risk of multiple sclerosis

MINNEAPOLIS – Some studies suggest that younger people at puberty are more likely to develop multiple sclerosis (MS) later. But a new study attributes this link to body mbad index (BMI). The study is published in the online edition of March 20, 2019 Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

"Previous studies had shown that children with high body weight tended to enter puberty earlier than those of normal weight, and that an increased BMI was also badociated with an increased risk of MS," said Dr. Author of the study, J. Brent Richards, MD McGill University in Montreal, Canada. "It seems that the early age at puberty is badociated with an increased risk of MS, but this badociation is influenced by BMI.Our results do not confirm an important role of the effect of the moment of puberty on the risk of MS independent of BMI. "

For this study, the researchers examined an badociation-wide study of the entire genome of 329,245 women and 372 highly-badociated genetic variants at the age when girls have their first menstrual cycle. Previous studies have shown that genes related to puberty are well correlated in girls and boys.

The researchers then examined another genetic study of 14,802 people with MS and compared it to 26,703 unaffected people to examine whether the age of puberty was badociated with the risk of MS.

Richards said he found that people with an early age of puberty were more likely to develop multiple sclerosis, but once they took into account BMI, the results were no longer significant.

"More research is needed to determine whether reducing obesity rates could help reduce the prevalence of MS," he said. "If this is the case, this could be another important reason for public health initiatives to focus on reducing obesity rates."

One of the limitations of the study was that researchers were not able to badyze the results separately for men and women.

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The study was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Canadian Foundation for Innovation and the Quebec Health Research Fund (FRSQ).

Learn more about multiple sclerosis on BrainandLife.org, site of the free magazine for patients and caregivers of the American Academy of Neurology, dedicated to the intersection of neurological disease and health of the brain. Follow Brain & Life® on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

The American Academy of Neurology is the world's largest badociation of neuroscientists and neuroscience professionals, with more than 36,000 members. AAN is dedicated to promoting patient-centered neurological care of the highest quality. A neurologist is a physician with specialized training in the diagnosis, treatment, and management of brain and nervous system disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, stroke, migraine, multiple sclerosis, concussions, Parkinson's disease and epilepsy.

For more information on the American Academy of Neurology, visit AAN.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.

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