Neonatal Vitamin D Level Predict Multiple Sclerosis Risk

Multiple sclerosis is an unpredictable and often debilitating disease affecting over two million people worldwide. The exact causes of the disease are not known, but it is believed to appear in genetically predisposed individuals who have also been exposed to a combination of environmental factors.

Although there is no known cure for multiple sclerosis (MS), medical professionals are investigating several avenues for treatment and prevention. When a person has MS, his or her immune system attacks the coating that protects the nerve cells. New studies suggest an intake of vitamin D during pregnancy may lower the risk of later-life multiple sclerosis in offspring as there are positive effects of vitamin D has on the immune system.

An international team of scientists led by those at the Statens Serum Institute (Copenhagen, Denmark) carried out a matched case-control study. Dried blood spots samples (DBSS) belonging to 521 patients with MS were identified in the Danish Newborn Screening Biobank. For every patient with MS, one or two controls totaling 972 with the same sex and birth date were retrieved from the Biobank . Level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) in the DBSS was measured using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectroscopy. The association between different levels of 25(OH)D and risk of MS was evaluated by odds ratios (OR) calculated in conditional logistic regression models.

Based on their vitamin D level, study participants were divided into five groups. The bottom group had levels lower than 21 nmol/L, while the top group had levels equal to or above 49 nmol/L. The scientists observed that lower levels of 25(OH)D in neonates were associated with an increased risk of MS. In the analysis by quintiles, MS risk was highest among individuals in the bottom quintile (less than 20.7 nmol/L) and lowest among those in the top quintile of 25(OH)D (equal to or greater than 48.9 nmol/L), with an odds ratio (OR) for top versus bottom of 0.53. In the analysis treating 25(OH)D as a continuous variable, a 25 nmol/L increase in neonatal 25(OH)D resulted in a 30% reduced risk of MS (OR 0.70).

Overall, participants with the highest levels of vitamin D were 47% less likely to develop MS later in life than those with the lowest levels. MS risk also seemed to decrease with the increase of 25(OH)D levels. In fact, for every 25 nmol/ L increase in neonatal 25(OH)D, the risk of MS dropped by 30%. The authors concluded that low concentrations of neonatal vitamin D are associated with an increased risk of MS. In light of the high prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency among pregnant women, our observation may have importance for public health. The study was published on November 30, 2016, in the journal Neurology.

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Statens Serum Institute