Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Meta-Analysis
. 2017 Apr 25;88(17):1623-1629.
doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000003849. Epub 2017 Mar 29.

Evidence for a causal relationship between low vitamin D, high BMI, and pediatric-onset MS

Collaborators, Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Evidence for a causal relationship between low vitamin D, high BMI, and pediatric-onset MS

Milena A Gianfrancesco et al. Neurology. .

Abstract

Objective: To utilize Mendelian randomization to estimate the causal association between low serum vitamin D concentrations, increased body mass index (BMI), and pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis (MS) using genetic risk scores (GRS).

Methods: We constructed an instrumental variable for vitamin D (vitD GRS) by computing a GRS for 3 genetic variants associated with levels of 25(OH)D in serum using the estimated effect of each risk variant. A BMI GRS was also created that incorporates the cumulative effect of 97 variants associated with BMI. Participants included non-Hispanic white individuals recruited from over 15 sites across the United States (n = 394 cases, 10,875 controls) and Sweden (n = 175 cases, 5,376 controls; total n = 16,820).

Results: Meta-analysis findings demonstrated that a vitD GRS associated with increasing levels of 25(OH)D in serum decreased the odds of pediatric-onset MS (odds ratio [OR] 0.72, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.55, 0.94; p = 0.02) after controlling for sex, genetic ancestry, HLA-DRB1*15:01, and over 100 non-human leukocyte antigen MS risk variants. A significant association between BMI GRS and pediatric disease onset was also demonstrated (OR 1.17, 95% CI 1.05, 1.30; p = 0.01) after adjusting for covariates. Estimates for each GRS were unchanged when considered together in a multivariable model.

Conclusions: We provide evidence supporting independent and causal effects of decreased vitamin D levels and increased BMI on susceptibility to pediatric-onset MS.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Chitnis T, Krupp L, Yeh A, et al. Pediatric multiple sclerosis. Neurol Clin 2011;29:481–505. - PubMed
    1. Yeh EA, Chitnis T, Krupp L, et al. Pediatric multiple sclerosis. Nat Rev Neurol 2009;5:621–631. - PubMed
    1. Krupp LB, Tardieu M, Amato MP, et al. International Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis Study Group criteria for pediatric multiple sclerosis and immune-mediated central nervous system demyelinating disorders: revisions to the 2007 definitions. Mult Scler 2013;19:1261–1267. - PubMed
    1. Mikaeloff Y, Caridade G, Tardieu M, Suissa S. Parental smoking at home and the risk of childhood-onset multiple sclerosis in children. Brain 2007;130:2589–2595. - PubMed
    1. Waldman A, Ghezzi A, Bar-Or A, Mikaeloff Y, Tardieu M, Banwell B. Multiple sclerosis in children: an update on clinical diagnosis, therapeutic strategies, and research. Lancet Neurol 2014;13:936–948. - PMC - PubMed