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Researchers Just Found A New Potential Warning Sign Of Multiple Sclerosis

Hannah Frye
Author:
October 09, 2023
Hannah Frye
Beauty & Health Editor
By Hannah Frye
Beauty & Health Editor
Hannah Frye is the Beauty & Health Editor at mindbodygreen. She has a B.S. in journalism and a minor in women’s, gender, and queer studies from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Hannah has written across lifestyle sections including beauty, women’s health, mental health, sustainability, social media trends, and more. She previously worked for Almost 30, a top-rated health and wellness podcast. In her current role, Hannah reports on the latest beauty trends and innovations, women’s health research, brain health news, and plenty more.
Depressed Woman Looking Out The Window In Her Home
Image by TRINETTE REED / Stocksy
October 09, 2023

Evidence suggests that the prevalence of multiple sclerosis (MS) has increased in the past few decades1, especially among women. However, there's still no cure or definitive cause for the central nervous system disease. 

Still, researchers are busy working to untangle why MS occurs and make strides toward a cure. To come, one new finding that may be a part of early MS detection in the future. 

Psychiatric conditions may arise before traditional MS symptoms

A new study published in Neurology suggests psychiatric conditions could be an early sign of MS that arise before traditional symptoms in some cases. In fact, data reveals that those with MS experience mental illness at almost twice the rate of the general population (28% compared to 14.9%). 

For the study, researchers used health records from over 6,000 people with MS in British Columbia and compared that information to over 31,000 patients without MS. They looked at the prevalence of psychiatric conditions including depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia. 

Researchers took into account five years of pre-MS detection records. This included physician and psychiatrist visits, hospitalizations, and prescriptions related to mental health, finding significantly higher rates of each category in those who went on to develop MS than those who didn't. In addition, these numbers only increased for patients with MS each year leading up to the official disease onset. 

This suggests that MS development may begin years before other symptoms arise—symptoms such as physical tingles from nerve damage, trouble balancing, and vision changes. 

In no way does this finding suggest that depression and anxiety can predict MS, but it is helpful for researchers to understand what symptoms may arise earlier than others. Previous research suggests chronic fatigue, sleep disorders, anemia, and pain may be other early indicators of MS2 as well. 

Hopefully, with earlier detection, the options for intervention may increase, and therefore, physicians may be able to slow disease progression. 

What's more, this finding encourages health care providers to view depression and anxiety as a symptom, not always a final diagnosis. 

Nevertheless, there's a critical need for more research on MS onset, progression, and treatment. 

The takeaway

A new study found that psychiatric conditions were almost twice as prevalent in patients who went on to develop MS compared to those who didn't. This finding may contribute to early detection and an increased understanding of MS development. Still, more research is needed.

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