"iDoctor – Medical Blog"

Salzer J, Svenningsson A, Sundström P. Season of birth and multiple sclerosis in Sweden.Acta Neurol Scand: DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0404.2009.01181.x.© 2009 The Authors Journal compilation © 2009 Blackwell Munksgaard.Objective [ndash] To estimate the risk of multiple sclerosis (MS) by month of birth in Sweden.Materials and Methods [ndash] Cases (n = 9361) were obtained from the Swedish MS Registry. All births in Sweden 1900[ndash]2007 served as controls (n = 12,116,853). The risk of MS was analyzed for each month of birth separately compared with birth during the other 11 months.Results [ndash] More (11%) cases with MS than expected were born in June. Fewer (8% and 10%) cases with MS than expected were born in December and January (non-significant after correction for multiple analyses). More (5%) cases with MS than expected were born in February[ndash]July as compared with August[ndash]January. Conclusions [ndash] This study supports previous results suggesting an association between the risk of MS and the season of birth. Decreased exposure to sun in the winter leading to low vitamin D levels during pregnancy is a possible explanation that needs further research.

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