Background: A growing literature, mostly based on selected populations, indicates that traumas may be associated with autoimmune diseases, yet few studies exist on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and multiple sclerosis (MS) in the general population.
Objective: We assessed cross-sectional associations between self-reported ACEs and MS among Icelandic women in the population-based Stress-And-Gene-Analysis (SAGA) cohort.
Methods: Participants (n = 27,870; mean age 44.9 years) answered a web-based survey that included the ACE-International Questionnaire and a question about MS diagnosis. Log-linear Poisson regression models estimated MS prevalence ratios and 95% confidence intervals for ACEs adjusted for covariates.
Results: 214 women reported having been diagnosed with MS (crude prevalence = 7.7 per 1000). Compared to women without MS, women with MS reported more fatigue, body pain and bladder problems. The average cumulative number of ACEs was 2.1. After adjustment for age, education, childhood deprivation, smoking and depressive symptoms, MS prevalence did not increase with increasing ACEs exposure (PR = 1.00, 95% CI = 0.92, 1.09). Thirteen ACE categories, including abuse, neglect, household dysfunction and violence were not individually or independently associated with MS.
Conclusion: Limited by self-reported data and cross-sectional design, results do not consistently support associations between ACEs in the development of MS among adult Icelandic women.
Keywords: ACEs; adverse childhood experiences; autoimmune; childhood; multiple sclerosis; stressor; trauma.