Till Örebro universitet

BACKGROUND: Obesity early in life has been linked to increased risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS). Leptin and insulin are both associated with obesity, making them suitable candidates for investigating this connection.

OBJECTIVE: To determine if leptin and insulin are risk factors for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS).

METHODS: -scored values to calculate odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

RESULTS: -score increase was associated with increased risk of MS in individuals younger than 20 years (OR = 1.4, 95% CI = 1.1-1.9) and in all men (OR = 1.4, 95% CI = 1.0-2.0). In contrast, for women aged 30-39 years, there was a lower risk of MS with increased leptin levels (OR = 0.74, 95% CI = 0.54-1.0) when adjusting for insulin levels.

CONCLUSION: We show that the pro-inflammatory adipokine leptin is a risk factor for MS among young individuals.