Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40392126›Full record

Observational studyDeutsches Arzteblatt international2025

The Relation of Multiple Sclerosis to Family History, Lifestyle, and Health Factors in Childhood and Adolescence: Findings of a Case-Control Study Nested Within the German National Cohort (NAKO) Study.

Anja Holz, Nadia Obi, Tobias Pischon, Matthias B Schulze, Wolfgang Ahrens, Klaus Berger, Barbara Bohn, Hermann Brenner, Carina Emmel, Beate Fischer and 22 more

Abstract readObservational Study
In one paragraph

Observational study in Deutsches Arzteblatt international, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Preventive strategies in neuroimmunology.Neurological research and practice · 2026
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

32 authors.

Anja HolzInstitute of Medical Biometry and Epidemiology (IMBE), University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), Hamburg; Institute for Occupational and Maritime Medicine (ZfAM), University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), Hamburg; Center for Molecular Neurobiology Hamburg (ZMNH), Institute for Neuroimmunology and Multiple Sclerosis (INIMS), University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), Hamburg; Heidelberg Institute for Global Health, University Medical Center Heidelberg, Heidelberg; University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE); Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC), Berlin; Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC), Technology Platform Biobank, und Charité - University Medical Center Berlin; German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbrücke and University of Potsdam; Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology - BIPS, Bremen; University of Bremen, Bremen; University of Münster; NAKO e.V., Heidelberg; German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg; University Medical Center Freiburg; University Medical Center Essen, Universität Duisburg-Essen; University of Regensburg; German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg; Saarland Cancer Registry, Saarbrücken; Charité - University Medical Center Berlin; University of Würzburg and the Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority (LGL), Erlangen; University Medical Center Greifswald; Helmholtz Center Munich - German Research Center for Healthcare and the Environment; NAKO Study Center, University Medical Center Augsburg; Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU); IUF - Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine, Düsseldorf; Catholic Hospital Bochum; University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE).
Nadia Obi
Tobias Pischon
Matthias B Schulze
Wolfgang Ahrens
Klaus Berger
Barbara Bohn
Hermann Brenner
Carina Emmel
Beate Fischer
Karin Halina Greiser
Volker Harth
Bernd Holleczek
Rudolf Kaaks
André Karch
Verena Katzke
Thomas Keil
Lilian Krist
Michael Leitzmann
Claudia Meinke-Franze
Karin B Michels
Katharina Nimptsch
Annette Peters
Oliver Riedel
Tamara Schikowski
Sabine Schipf
Börge Schmidt
Sigrid Thierry
Kerstin Hellwig
Karin Riemann-Lorenz
Christoph Heesen
Heiko Becher

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMultiple sclerosis (MS) is a neuroinflammatory disease of presumed autoimmune origin. A combination of genetic susceptibility and exposure to certain environmental and lifestyle factors might trigger the onset of MS. The currently known risk factors include a genetic predisposition, infection with the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), smoking, and an increased body mass index.

methodsIn 2021-22, we carried out a case-control study nested within the German National Cohort (NAKO) to investigate associations of potential risk factors with MS.

resultsThe subjects included 576 persons with MS (cases) and 895 without MS (controls). Beyond the known risk factors, we observed associations between MS and the cumulative number of common childhood infections (odds ratio (OR) 1.14 per additional infection, 95% confidence interval (CI): [1.03; 1.25]), major stressful life events (SLE) (OR 1.25 per additional event, [1.06; 1.48]), being the firstborn child of a mother aged 30 or older (OR 2.11, [1.08; 4.13]); higher amounts of physical activity in the teenage years were associated with a lower risk of MS (OR 0.82 per unit increase in activity level, [0.71; 0.95]).

conclusionWe confirmed known risk factors for MS and found associations with a number of new ones, e.g., the cumulative number of common childhood infections. These findings may shed light on the etiology of MS and merit further study.

Indexed as

Life StyleMultiple SclerosisAdolescentAdultCase-Control StudiesChildChild, PreschoolCohort StudiesFemaleGenetic Predisposition to DiseaseGermanyHumansMaleMiddle AgedRisk FactorsYoung Adult

Identifiers

PMID40392126
PMCPMC12560267

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.