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study suggested the stress that results from losing a child
might increase your chances of developing multiple sclerosis
by 50 percent. Since it is believed severe cases of stress play
a role in the development of MS, the severe stress caused to
parents who lost a child make them likely candidates to study.
For the first time, researchers used a large group of people
beginning before they developed MS and then following them
for the next several years. The study found that the risk
of developing MS increased for parents whose child died unexpectedly.
The study followed the parents for an average of 9.5 years
and throughout that time 28 of the parents who had lost a
child developed MS and 230 of the other parents developed
MS. The risk was the same regardless of the age or sex of
the child or parent.
The cause of MS is not known and the average age of diagnosis
is 30, but researchers believe that genetics and environment
play a key role.
Neurology
March 9, 2004;62, 76
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