Background Outcomes from previous studies on PUFA intake and multiple sclerosis (MS) risk are conflicting. top vs. bottom quintile: 0.61, 95% CI: 0.45C0.83, p pattern=0.001). The long-chain fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) were not associated with MS risk. Conclusion Low dietary PUFA intake may be another modifiable risk factor for MS. strong class=”kwd-title” BAY 73-4506 novel inhibtior Keywords: Multiple sclerosis, polyunsaturated fatty acids, alpha-linolenic acid, epidemiology, risk factors Introduction Multiple sclerosis (MS) is usually a demyelinating disease of the central nervous system whose etiology is usually unknown. In the 1950s, some ecological studies reported geographical differences in MS prevalence independent of latitude.1, 2 This was initially attributed to differences in saturated fat intake from animal sources, but later hypothesized to be due to differences in intake of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA).3 Results from recent studies on PUFA intake and MS risk have, however, been inconsistent. While several studies have reported an inverse association between food sources or supplements rich in PUFA, including fish4C6 and cod liver oil,7 and MS risk, one study observed no significant association.8 A recent case-control study that estimated PUFA intake from the overall diet reported an inverse association between marine long-chain n-3 PUFA, but not for plant-derived PUFA.9 Still, the only prospective study BAY 73-4506 novel inhibtior on PUFA and MS risk reported an inverse non-significant pattern for the plant derived PUFA -linolenic acid (ALA).10 As retrospective studies on diet are especially prone to bias,11 the inconsistencies observed could to some extent be attributed to Mouse monoclonal to EphA3 methodological limitations in previous research. BAY 73-4506 novel inhibtior We conducted a follow-up study of the first prospective study on PUFA and MS risk, and sought to prospectively examine the association in two large cohort studies with several decades of follow-up time. Methods Study people The Nurses Wellness Research (NHS) and the Nurses Health Research II (NHSII) are two potential cohort studies BAY 73-4506 novel inhibtior made up of feminine nurses surviving in america. During follow-up, the individuals finished biennial questionnaires on health background and health-related behavior. NHS started in 1976 with 121,700 females aged 30 to 50 years. NHSII began in 1989 and enrolled 116,671 females aged 25 to 42 years. For the existing analyses, the baseline calendar year was the initial year that an extended semi-quantitative food regularity questionnaire (FFQ) was offered (1984 for NHS and 1991 for NHSII). In these years, 81,575 ladies in NHS and 95,452 ladies in NHSII finished the FFQ. Females who acquired incomplete baseline FFQs, implausible caloric intakes ( 500 or 3,500 kcal/time) or who had been identified as having MS ahead of baseline had been excluded. In a report comparing females excluded because of implausible energy consumption with those contained in NHS, the baseline features were comparable, although underreporters acquired higher BMI and overreporters reported higher degrees of exercise.12 After these exclusions, 80,920 ladies in NHS and 94,511 ladies in NHSII were designed for the analyses. Regular process approvals, registrations, and individual consents The institutional review plank of Brigham and Women’s Medical center approved this research. Ascertainment of MS situations The task of MS ascertainment in NHS and NHSII, like the validity of the approach, provides previously been defined.13 BAY 73-4506 novel inhibtior In a nutshell, incident MS situations had been identified by self-survey on the biennial questionnaires. We verified the medical diagnosis by sending a questionnaire on the certainty of the medical diagnosis (definite, probable, feasible, not really MS) and the scientific background to the dealing with neurologist. Since 2003, our research neurologist (TC) examined the health background if consent was given and the medical records were available. Patients defined as definite or probable cases were included in the study. Using this approach, we documented 130 and 349 new MS.