Obese children may face more than twice the risk of developing multiple sclerosis than adults, research suggests.
MS affects the brain and spinal cord and can cause a variety of potential symptoms, including problems with vision, arm and leg movement, sensation, and balance. This is a lifelong condition that can lead to severe disability in some cases.
The findings from Stockholm’s Karolinska Institute will be presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Venice in May.
Previous evidence suggests an association between high body mass index (BMI) and increased risk of MS in adolescents. However, most of these studies were retrospective in design and used self-reported data.
Researchers in a new study sought to prospectively assess the risk of developing MS in a large cohort of obese children compared to the general population.
The researchers analyzed data from the Swedish Childhood Obesity Treatment Registry. This database, known as Boris, is one of the world’s largest registries for the treatment of childhood obesity.
The researchers looked at data on children between the ages of 2 and 19 who enrolled in the registry between 1995 and 2020 and compared that information with information on children in the general population.
The study included data on more than 21,600 obese children who started treatment for obesity at an average age of 11 years, and more than 100,000 children without obesity.
Children in the study were followed for an average of six years. During the follow-up period, MS was diagnosed in 28 people (0.13% of the group) in the obese group and 58 (0.06%) in the non-obese group.
The mean age at diagnosis of MS was similar between groups, with patients diagnosed at an average age of 23 years.
The authors acknowledged the study’s limitations, but said: “Despite the limited follow-up period, our findings highlight that childhood obesity more than doubles susceptibility to early-onset MS. “I’m doing it,” he said.
The authors of the study, Associate Professor Emilia Hagmann and Professor Claude Marcus, said: Diseases such as MS.
“Chronic low-grade inflammation is also thought to increase the risk of other diseases, such as asthma, arthritis, type 1 diabetes, and some cancers. However, losing weight reduces inflammation and increases the risk of such diseases. We know that your risk of developing the disease is most likely to be reduced.”
