Extremely Obese Girls at Increased Risk for Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis

To examine whether childhood obesity is associated with risk for pediatric multiple sclerosis (MS) or clinically isolated syndrome (CIS), researchers reviewed data from more than 900,000 children (aged 18 years or younger) from one private Southern California healthcare system. The authors categorized body-mass index (BMI) as underweight (<5th percentile), normal (5th to <85th percentile), overweight (≥85th percentile or BMI ≥25 kg/m²), moderately obese (≥95th percentile or BMI ≥30 kg/m²), or extremely obese (95th percentile or BMI ≥35 kg/m²). Logistic regression adjusted for sex, age, and race/ethnicity.

Of the children, 75 had a new diagnosis of CIS or MS. Many of the children with MS or CIS were Hispanic (52%), and children with MS or CIS…