Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, autoimmune inflammatory illness of the central nervous system (CNS) with rising prevalence.MS is the most common debilitating neurodegenerative disease among young adults. Some experts believe that genetic and environmental factors, such as smoking, obesity, and exposure to ultraviolet B (UVB) light may increase the likelihood of MS onset.
Scientists at the Università del Piemonte Orientale in Novaro, Italy scoured the vast UK Biobank for clues linking diet and lifestyle factors with the condition. Their findings appear in the journal Nutrients. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a neurodegenerative disease which causes the immune system to attack myelin, a substance that coats nerve fibers.
Such issues can lead to sensory disturbances, visual impairments, lack of coordination, and paralysis. Disease subtypes include clinically isolated syndrome, primary progressive MS, relapsing-remitting MS, and secondary progressive MS. Female MS patients outnumber male counterparts two to one. Prior research conducted by some of the present study’s authors had suggested that gut health may influence the CNS.
The study’s authors used data from the UK Biobank, one of the largest biomedical databases currently available. They did so to address “a paucity of large-scale prospective studies regarding dietary exposures that are focused on the general population,” as they explain in the paper.
At its start, this study cohort included 502,507 residents (about half the population of Montana) of the United Kingdom aged 40–69 years. The presence of MS was determined by hospital admissions with MS diagnoses or self-reported diagnoses of MS.
At the study’s baseline, in 2006, all participants answered a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), through which they reported their usual consumption of 29 different food groups and alcohol over the previous year. A subsample of participants also completed online interviews that recalled the previous 24 hours of dietary choices. The results were based on investigating 200 different foods and beverages.
Since the online interview tool automatically calculated the energy and nutritional contents of the reported food items, we were able to evaluate the impact of single micro- or macronutrient intake on the disease risk.
They also used dietary data to calculate the participants’ Mediterranean Diet scores.
After exclusions due to participant retractions or missing information, the final cohort included 499,563 people. The present study also considered the role that additional lifestyle factors may play in MS onset. The authors combed through data on body mass index (BMI), smoking, and physical activity. An average of 12 years of follow-up data identified 478 MS cases developing among the study cohort. Genetic determinants for obesity and obesity during childhood were also linked to an elevated MS risk. The study’s authors observed an inverse correlation between adherence to a Mediterranean diet type and MS onset, suggesting that a healthy, plant- and whole-food-rich diet that included moderate fatty fish consumption may help protect against this chronic condition.
To the study authors’ knowledge, their work is the first to observe a “slightly protective” effect of moderate fish intake. Eating fatty fish once weekly appeared to be more protective than more frequent consumption.
