Photo Credit: Kirsty Pargeter
The following is a summary of “Association between sun exposure habits and disease progression in multiple sclerosis,” published in the March 2024 issue of Neurology by Wu et al.
Living farther from the equator (higher latitude) is linked to both a higher risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS) and a more severe course of the disease.
Researchers started a retrospective study to investigate how sun exposure habits influence disease progression and quality of life in individuals with MS.
They examined patients from a population-based case–control study, classifying them by sun exposure habits at diagnosis. Follow-up was extended up to 15 years post-diagnosis via the Swedish MS registry (n = 3314). Long-term changes were analyzed using linear mixed models, and outcomes, including 24-week confirmed disability worsening, EDSS3, EDSS4, and physical worsening, were investigated using Cox regression models with 95% CI.
The results showed that in comparison to median sun exposure, low sunlight exposure was linked to faster EDSS progression and increased risks: confirmed disability worsening (HR 1.48, 95% CI 1.21–1.81), reaching EDSS 3 (HR 1.35, 95% CI 1.02–1.79), EDSS 4 (HR 1.47, 95% CI 1.01–2.20), and self-reported physical worsening (HR 1.27, 95% CI 1.00–1.62). Increasing sun exposure showed significant trends associated with reduced risk of adverse outcomes.
Investigators concluded that patients with MS who had shallow sun exposure experienced worse disease progression and a lower quality of life.