BACKGROUND: Current evidence suggests that sun exposure and vitamin D intake, during childhood and adolescence, are associated with a reduced risk of multiple sclerosis (MS). However, the role of these environmental agents in the timing of disease symptom onset remains to be investigated. METHODS: Using a cross-sectional study design, we recruited participants from the Veterans Health Administration-Multiple Sclerosis Surveillance Registry. Self-reported histories of residential locations, sun exposure and intake of vitamin D were used to estimate vitamin-D-related exposures. Multivariable linear regression analysis was used to examine the associations between these variables and age at MS onset. RESULTS: Among veterans with relapsing MS who resided in low-to-medium solar radiation areas (n = 540), low sun exposure in the fall/winter during the ages of 6-15 years was significantly associated with earlier symptom onset by 2.1 years (p = 0.02). Intake of cod liver oil during the same age period was associated with later onset of MS symptoms by 4 years (p = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: The current study provides evidence for an association between vitamin-D-related exposures during childhood and early adolescence and the timing of MS symptom onset, and supports vitamin D as a potential modulator of the clinical course of this disease.
BACKGROUND: Current evidence suggests that sun exposure and vitamin D intake, during childhood and adolescence, are associated with a reduced risk of multiple sclerosis (MS). However, the role of these environmental agents in the timing of disease symptom onset remains to be investigated. METHODS: Using a cross-sectional study design, we recruited participants from the Veterans Health Administration-Multiple Sclerosis Surveillance Registry. Self-reported histories of residential locations, sun exposure and intake of vitamin D were used to estimate vitamin-D-related exposures. Multivariable linear regression analysis was used to examine the associations between these variables and age at MS onset. RESULTS: Among veterans with relapsing MS who resided in low-to-medium solar radiation areas (n = 540), low sun exposure in the fall/winter during the ages of 6-15 years was significantly associated with earlier symptom onset by 2.1 years (p = 0.02). Intake of cod liver oil during the same age period was associated with later onset of MS symptoms by 4 years (p = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: The current study provides evidence for an association between vitamin-D-related exposures during childhood and early adolescence and the timing of MS symptom onset, and supports vitamin D as a potential modulator of the clinical course of this disease.
Authors: M José Bagur; M Antonia Murcia; Antonia M Jiménez-Monreal; Josep A Tur; M Mar Bibiloni; Gonzalo L Alonso; Magdalena Martínez-Tomé Journal: Adv Nutr Date: 2017-05-15 Impact factor: 8.701
Authors: Colleen Elizabeth Hayes; Shane L Hubler; Jerott R Moore; Lauren E Barta; Corinne E Praska; Faye E Nashold Journal: Front Immunol Date: 2015-03-18 Impact factor: 7.561
Authors: Anne-Hilde Muris; Joost Smolders; Linda Rolf; Lieke J J Klinkenberg; Noreen van der Linden; Steven Meex; Jan Damoiseaux; Raymond Hupperts Journal: PLoS One Date: 2016-06-08 Impact factor: 3.240
Authors: Maria Trojano; Guglielmo Lucchese; Giusi Graziano; Bruce V Taylor; Steve Simpson; Vito Lepore; Francois Grand'maison; Pierre Duquette; Guillermo Izquierdo; Pierre Grammond; Maria Pia Amato; Roberto Bergamaschi; Giorgio Giuliani; Cavit Boz; Raymond Hupperts; Vincent Van Pesch; Jeannette Lechner-Scott; Edgardo Cristiano; Marcela Fiol; Celia Oreja-Guevara; Maria Laura Saladino; Freek Verheul; Mark Slee; Damiano Paolicelli; Carla Tortorella; Mariangela D'Onghia; Pietro Iaffaldano; Vita Direnzo; Helmut Butzkueven Journal: PLoS One Date: 2012-10-25 Impact factor: 3.240