Stress May Increase Risk for Developing Multiple Sclerosis

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The possibility that psychological stress may play a role in the

development of multiple sclerosis has gained support from a Danish study

that found that parents who lose a child have an increased risk of

developing the disease, which destroys the protective sheath around the

nerves.

People who lost a child were 50 percent more likely to develop MS than

parents who did not lose a child, the study found.

In today's issue of Neurology, the researchers said the risk was even

greater for parents whose child died unexpectedly. They were more than twice

as likely to develop MS as parents who did not lose a child.

A team led by Jiong Li of the University of Aarhus used Denmark's extensive

system of medical records, identifying all children younger than 18 who died

over a 16-year period, and their parents. Then, over 10 years, they compared

these families with similar families in which a child did not die.