ArticleFrontiers in immunology2022
Infectious mononucleosis is associated with an increased incidence of multiple sclerosis: Results from a cohort study of 32,116 outpatients in Germany.
Article in Frontiers in immunology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers.
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Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed, 26 citations in OpenAlex.
- Multiple Sclerosis and Viruses: « Liaisons Dangereuses ».Reviews in medical virology · 2026Review
- Epstein-Barr Virus and Multiple Sclerosis: Mechanistic Insights into Virus-Driven Autoimmunity.Microorganisms · 2026Review
- Risk of Multiple Sclerosis Among Persons with Epstein Barr Virus-Positive Mononucleosis: A Population-Based Study.Neurology open access · 2026Article
- Why Is MS a More Frequent Complication of EBV Infection in Females?Immunological reviews · 2026Review
- Epstein-Barr Virus and Multiple Sclerosis: A Narrative Review on Prevention and the Concept of an Infection-Driven Disease.Biomedicines · 2026Review
- Neurology-Related Research Using the German Disease Analyzer Database: A Narrative Review of Studies Published Between 2020 and 2025.NeuroSci · 2026Review
- Epstein-Barr virus-associated multiple sclerosis: recent mechanistic advances and clinical therapeutic perspectives.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Epstein-Barr virus and multiple sclerosis: lesson learned to develop better nonhuman primate models.Experimental & molecular medicine · 2025Review
- Acute infectious mononucleosis generates persistent, functional EBNA-1 antibodies with high cross-reactivity to alpha-crystalline beta.Cell reports · 2025Article
- Stratifying Multiple Sclerosis Susceptibility Risk: The Role of HLA-E*01 and Infectious Mononucleosis in a Population Cohort.European journal of neurology · 2025Article
- Knowledge mapping of childhood infectious mononucleosis: a bibliometric analysis for the twenty-first century.Journal of health, population, and nutrition · 2025Article
- Natural killer cells in multiple sclerosis: foe or friends?Frontiers in cellular neuroscience · 2025Review
- Risk of inflammatory bowel disease following hospitalisation with infectious mononucleosis: nationwide cohort study from Denmark.Nature communications · 2024Article
- Ineffective control of Epstein-Barr virus infection is seen in MS: What is next?Clinical and translational medicine · 2024Article
- Adverse Childhood Experiences and the Risk of Multiple Sclerosis Development: A Review of Potential Mechanisms.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
- Expanded T lymphocytes in the cerebrospinal fluid of multiple sclerosis patients are specific for Epstein-Barr-virus-infected B cells.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2024Article
- EBV-specific T-cell immunity: relevance for multiple sclerosis.Frontiers in immunology · 2024Review
- Understanding the role of membrane cholesterol upon Epstein Barr virus infection in astroglial cells.Frontiers in immunology · 2023Article
- Nasal Microbiota and Neuroinflammation: Relationship between Nasal Flora and Multiple Sclerosis Onset/Progression.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- The Association between Infectious Mononucleosis and Cancer: A Cohort Study of 24,190 Outpatients in Germany.Cancers · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: The pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis (MS) has not yet been fully uncovered. There is increasing evidence that Epstein-Barr-Virus (EBV) infection, which affects over 90% of people during life and causes infectious mononucleosis, leads to an increased incidence of MS, and thus may play a crucial role in the pathophysiology of the disease. Methods: Using the Disease Analyzer database (IQVIA) featuring diagnoses as well as basic medical and demographic data of outpatients from general practices in Germany, we identified a total of 16,058 patients with infectious mononucleosis that were matched to a cohort of equal size without infectious mononucleosis based on patients' age, sex, index year and yearly consultation frequency. Incidence of MS was compared within a 10-year follow-up period. Results: Within 10 years from the index date, the incidence of MS was 22.6 cases per 100,000 person-years among patient with infectious mononucleosis but only 11.9 cases per 100,000 person-years among individuals without infectious mononucleosis. In regression analysis, infectious mononucleosis was significantly associated with the incidence of MS (HR: 1.86, 95% CI: 1.09-3.16). Subgroup analysis revealed the strongest association between infectious mononucleosis and MS in the age group between 14 and 20 years (HR: 3.52, 95% CI: 1.00-12.37) as well as a stronger association in men compared to women. Conclusion: Infectious mononucleosis is associated with an increased incidence of MS especially in younger individuals. Our data support the growing evidence of a decisive involvement of EBV in the currently unknown pathophysiology of MS and should trigger further research efforts to better understand and potentially prevent cases of this disabling disease in future.
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