Vitamin D Protects Women Against MS

UMEÅ, SwedenPregnant women and women in general who have high levels of vitamin D in their blood have a 61% lower risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS), compared to those who have low levels of vitamin D in their blood, according to a new study published in the journal Neurology.

Researchers at Umeå University reviewed information about 291,500 blood samples from 164,000 people collected since 1975 in the northern half of Sweden. Of those, 192 people developed MS an average of nine years after their blood sample was drawn, and there were 37 blood samples drawn during pregnancy from mothers whose children went on to develop MS later in life.

They found women who had high levels of vitamin D in their blood had a 61% lower risk of developing MS, compared to those who had low levels of vitamin D in their blood. Overall, few people had high levels of vitamin D. Only seven of the 192 people who developed MS, or 4%, had high vitamin D levels, compared to 30 of 384 controls without the disease, or 8%. No association was found between the mothers vitamin D level and whether her child would later develop MS.

In our study, pregnant women and women in general had a lower risk for MS with higher levels of the vitamin, as expected. However, a mothers levels of vitamin D during early pregnancy did not have an effect on MS risk for her baby," the researchers said. Since we found no protective effect on the baby for women with higher levels of vitamin D in early pregnancy, our study suggests the protective effect may start in later pregnancy and beyond."

The researchers also said the vitamin D levels became gradually lower with time from 1975 and onward. It is possible that this decline in vitamin D status is linked to the increasing numbers of MS cases seen worldwide.

An earlier study conducted at the University of California, San Francisco found low vitamin D blood levels were associated with a significantly higher risk of relapse attacks in patients with MS who develop the disease during childhood.