Study Finds Stress Not a Risk Factor for Multiple Sclerosis

posted on Jul 13 by Jessica in the Disability News, Health, Multiple Sclerosis category

A new study shows that stress is not likely to raise the risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS). Stress has been suspected to play a role in aggravating existing multiple sclerosis, but it has not been established weather stress could increase the risk of developing the disease. Researcher Trond Riise, Ph.D. of the University of Bergen, Norway said, “While we’ve known that stressful life events have been shown to increase the risk of MS episodes, we weren’t certain whether these stressors could actually lead to developing the disease itself.”

Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease that affects the brain and spinal cord (central nervous system). MS is caused by damage to the myelin sheath (the protective covering that surrounds nerve cells); when the myelin sheath is damaged, nerve impulses are slowed or stop completely. This causes periodic bouts of muscle pain and weakness. The cause for MS is still unknown; however, the most common theories suggest a virus or genetic defect, as well as environmental factors.

Researchers studied the relationship between stress and the risk of developing MS in over 237,000 female participants. Each participant gave their level of general stress at both work and home, as well as any physical or sexual abuse in their childhood. Risk factors for MS including age, ethnicity, latitude of birth, body mass at the age of 18, and smoking status had to be taken into consideration.

“This rules out stress as a major risk factor for MS,” concluded Riise, who added, “Future research can now focus on repeated and more fine-tuned measures of stress,” to fully exclude stress as a risk factor for the multiple sclerosis.

Sources:

http://www.webmd.com/multiple-sclerosis/news/20110531/study-stress-is-not-linked-to-ms-risk

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001747/#adam_000737.disease.causes

http://www.lamarfreed.net/stressandms.html