article information

Zahedan Journal of Research in Medical Sciences: Vol.15, issue 2; e93090
published online: October 28, 2012
article type: Research Article
received: December 12, 2011
accepted: January 05, 2012

The Effect of Childhood Viral Infections on the Incidence of Multiple Sclerosis

authors:

avatar Reza Vazirinejad 1 , * , avatar Esfandyar Sotoudeh-Maram 2 , avatar Ali AKbar Soltanzadeh 3 , avatar Mohammad-Mohsen Taghavi 4

Department of Social Medicine, Social Determinants of Health Research Centre, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran
Department of Social Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
Department of Neurology, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Department of Anatomy, Social Determinants of Health Research Centre, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran

how to cite: Vazirinejad R, Sotoudeh-Maram E, Soltanzadeh A A, Taghavi M. The Effect of Childhood Viral Infections on the Incidence of Multiple Sclerosis. Zahedan J Res Med Sci. 2013;15(2):e93090. 

Abstract

Background : In this study, the history of viral infections of measles, chickenpox and mumps in childhood was compared between the two groups of adults with multiple sclerosis (MS) and healthy people.
Materials and Methods : In this case-control study, a group of 45 MS patients and a group of 135 healthy people who were similar based on some variables were invited. Patients had a definite diagnosis of MS and control group consisted of people accompanying MS patients. Data were collected by a trained expert in face-to-face interview sessions. For data analysis, odds ratio index was calculated and 95% confidence interval was also computed. The mean age of respondents at the time of viral infections was also compared between the two groups.
Results : The proportions of infected people by measles, chickenpox and mumps among MS patients were 58%, 56% and 40%, respectively. These proportions in healthy group were 68%, 52% and 44%, respectively. There was not any significant difference between these proportions in the two groups. Mean age of morbidity for measles, chickenpox and mumps among patients were 6.8±3.1, 8.7±2.98 and 10.6±4.7 years, and were significantly higher that these mean ages (4.1±2.1, 5.3±3.1 and 8.4±2.8, respectively) among healthy people (p<0.001).
Conclusion : Although there was not any significant difference between the history of morbidity of measles, chickenpox and mumps in the two groups of MS patients and healthy people, the mean ages of these viral infections among MS patients were significantly higher than healthy people.

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References

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