Poor sleep during teenage years may increase subsequent MS risk: Study

Insufficient and disturbed sleep during the teenage years may heighten the subsequent risk of multiple sclerosis (MS), suggests a case-control study published online in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry.

For the study, the researchers drew on a population-based case-control study, the Epidemiological Investigation of Multiple Sclerosis (EIMS), comprising 16–70-year-old Swedish residents. The researchers focused particularly on sleep patterns during the ages 15 to 19, and the final analysis included 2075 people with MS and 3164 without the condition in this age group when recruited to the study. Participants were asked about their sleeping patterns at different ages: length of sleep on work or school days, and at weekends or on free days.

The average age at which MS was diagnosed was 34. Sleep length and quality during adolescence were associated with the risk of an MS diagnosis, which increased in tandem with fewer hours of, and poorer quality, sleep. Compared with sleeping 7–9 hours/night during the teenage years, short sleep was associated with a 40% heightened risk of subsequently developing MS, after accounting for a range of potentially influential factors, including BMI at age 20 and smoking. Similarly, subjectively assessed poor sleep quality during this period was associated with a 50% heightened risk of developing the condition.

Reference:

Insufficient sleep during adolescence and risk of multiple sclerosis: results from a Swedish case control study doi 10.1136/jnnp-2022-330123,Journal: Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry