Do Serious Infections Increase Risk for Multiple Sclerosis?

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease, most likely the result of multiple environmental factors with an underlying genetic susceptibility. For example, Epstein-Barr virus serologies for past infection are present in close to 100% of patients with MS. In this study, investigators used a population-based registry in Sweden to evaluate infections requiring hospitalization between birth and 19 years of age, and subsequent diagnosis of MS from age 20 years and beyond.

In the registry, 4022 (0.17%) individuals were diagnosed with MS from 20 years of age. Of those, 14.7% had an infection requiring hospitalization from birth through age 10, and 12.9% were hospitalized between 11 to 19 years. Whereas infectious hospitalizations from birth …