Dietary Food Groups and Nutrient Intake in Association with Multiple Sclerosis: A Case-Control Study

Abstract

Introduction: It has been proposed that dietary intake is associated with multiple sclerosis (MS). The present case-control study was conducted to investigate the relationship between intake of different food groups and occurrence of MS among the recently diagnosed adult patients in Yazd City, Iran.

Materials and Methods: In the current study, a group of 45 patients who have recently been diagnosed with MS and 100 healthy controls were investigated in this research. Participants were matched regarding their gender. Dietary intakes were assessed using a self-administered semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Participants also completed a demographic questionnaire including information such as age, gender, marital status, job, education, sun exposure, smoking, sunscreen, body mass index (BMI), economic status, as well as their spouses' occupations and education. Logistic regressions in crude and multivariable-adjusted models were used to investigate the relationship between food groups and the odds of developing MS.

Results:  The findings showed that participants with high consumption of fruits, potatoes, refined grains, pickles, and fibers had a significantly lower chance for developing MS after adjustment for the maximum possible confounding variables (P < 0.05).

Conclusion: The present study revealed that several food groups or nutrients are associated with the development of MS.  Further multi-central prospective studies including more participants are needed to confirm these results