Key result
High HHV-6A antibody levels were associated with increased risk of developing multiple sclerosis (OR 1.5; 95% CI 1.4-1.6) and interacted synergistically with smoking, low UVR, and low vitamin D.
Why the study?
Infection with HHV-6A has been suggested to increase MS risk, but potential interactions between HHV-6A and environmental/lifestyle risk factors had not previously been studied.
Do high HHV-6A antibody levels interact with lifestyle factors to increase the risk of developing multiple sclerosis?
Case-Control (n=11,988)
Do high HHV-6A antibody levels interact with lifestyle factors to increase the risk of developing multiple sclerosis?
Odds Ratio: 1.5 (95% CI 1.4–1.6)
High HHV-6A antibody levels are associated with increased MS risk and act synergistically with smoking, low UVR exposure, and low vitamin D levels.
High HHV-6A antibodies may interact with smoking and low vitamin D on MS risk; leaves open causal mechanisms and prevention targets.
BACKGROUND: Infection with human herpesvirus 6A (HHV-6A) has been suggested to increase multiple sclerosis (MS) risk. However, potential interactions between HHV-6A and environmental/lifestyle risk factors for MS have not previously been studied. METHODS: We used two Swedish population-based case-control studies comprising 5993 cases and 5995 controls. Using logistic regression models, subjects with different HHV-6A antibody levels, environmental exposures, and lifestyle habits were compared regarding MS risk, by calculating odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Potential interactions between high HHV-6A antibody levels and common environmental exposures and lifestyle factors were evaluated on the additive scale. RESULTS: High HHV-6A antibody levels were associated with increased risk of developing MS (OR = 1.5, 95% CI = 1.4-1.6). Regarding MS risk, significant interactions were observed between high HHV-6A antibody levels and both smoking (attributable proportion (AP) = 0.2, 95% CI = 0.1-0.3), low ultraviolet radiation (UVR) exposure (AP = 0.3, 95% CI = 0.1-0.4), and low vitamin D levels (AP = 0.3, 95% CI = 0.0-0.6). CONCLUSION: High HHV-6A antibody levels are associated with increased MS risk and act synergistically with common environmental/lifestyle risk factors for MS. Further research is needed to investigate potential mechanisms underlying the interactions presented in this study.
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Wu et al. (2021) conducted a case-control in Multiple sclerosis (n=11,988). High HHV-6A antibody levels vs. Lower HHV-6A antibody levels was evaluated on Multiple sclerosis development (OR 1.5, 95% CI 1.4-1.6). High HHV-6A antibody levels were associated with increased risk of developing multiple sclerosis (OR 1.5; 95% CI 1.4-1.6) and interacted synergistically with smoking, low UVR, and low vitamin D.
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