Obesity is associated with an increased rate of paediatric MS and more relapses on first-line treatment, research shows.
And findings support other evidence that obesity doubles the MS risk in adult populations.
A single-centre, retrospective German study of 453 paediatric patients with relapsing-remitting MS found 27.8% of the children were overweight or obese within six months of their first clinical presentation.
The children had an average age of 13.7 years at diagnosis and were mostly female (67.5%).
About half the children with high BMI (13%) were determined to be overweight and about half (14.8%) were obese.
The study found that high BMI was associated with an increased odds of paediatric MS in both girls and boys.
“This association was dose dependent and had an OR of 1.37 (95% CI, 1.0-1.8; P = 0.03) in overweight participants and rose to 2.2 (95% CI, 1.7-2.9; P < 0.001) in those with obesity, an outcome seen equally in boys and girls,” the study authors said.
Higher rates of overweight and obesity were seen in both younger (7-10 years) and older aged children (11-17 years).
Younger boys had the highest rate of overweight and obesity (40%).
The study also found more relapses on interferon or glatiramer therapy for obese children compared to non-overweight children.