Age-specific effects of childhood body mass index on multiple sclerosis risk.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Higher body mass index (BMI) during early life is thought to be a causal risk factor for multiple sclerosis (MS). We used longitudinal Mendelian randomisation (MR) to determine whether there is a critical window during which BMI influences MS risk.

Methods

Summary statistics for childhood BMI (n ~ 28,000 children) and for MS susceptibility were obtained from recent large genome-wide association studies (GWAS) (n = 14,802 MS, 26,703 controls). We generated exposure instruments for BMI during four non-overlapping age epochs (< 3 months, 3 months-1.5 years, 2-5 years, and 7-8 years) and performed MR using the inverse variance weighted method with standard sensitivity analyses. Multivariable MR was used to account for effects mediated via later-life BMI.

Results

SUBMITTER: Hone L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9363310 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature