Researchers investigated the role of stress in multiple sclerosis (MS) by performing the largest population‐based case–control study on this topic. This analysis included 2,930 incident MS cases and 6,170 controls. Via unconditional logistic regressions and adjusting for potential confounders, experts examined the link between 10 major life events that happened prior to disease onset and the risk of MS. Disease risk was significantly raised by 17%–30% by most events. Certain stressful scenarios impacted women to a larger degree than men, and there were significant impacts of most events that occurred ≤5 years prior to MS onset, suggesting a critical window in disease development. Overall, findings are indicative of a likely adverse impact of stressful life events on the risk of MS.

Read the full article on European Journal of Neurology.