Exposure to the sun baby seems to reduce the risk of relapse in children with multiple sclerosis.
- According to a new study, exposing the sun at least 30 minutes a day during the first year of life can reduce the risk of relapse of MS in children with this disease.
- Exposure to the sun of at least 30 min a day during the 2nd trimester of pregnancy is also linked to a lower risk of sep relapse in children.
- Additional studies are necessary to confirm the observed link.
Although it is rare, multiple sclerosis (MS) can also touch children and adolescents. But, an element seems to be able to reduce the risk of relapse in these young people: the sun.
A study, published in the journal Neurology neuroimmunology & neuroinflammationshows that an exhibition of at least 30 minutes a day in the summer sun during the first year of life is linked to a reduction in the risk of relapse in children diagnosed with a Sep later.
Multiple sclerosis: the sun linked to a lower risk of relapse
“It is important not to spend too much time in the sun without sun protection, but previous research has established a link between a greater exposure to the sun and a lower risk of developing a ME in childhood”explains Dr. Gina Chang of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and member of the American Academy of Neurology.
To verify this association, the team examined the medical records of 334 young patients under the age of 21 diagnosed with multiple sclerosis during childhood. The latter were followed for a median period of 3.3 years.
Children’s sun exposure was assessed through parents’ responses to a questionnaire. They had to indicate how long the participants and their mom had spent outside at different periods of their lives, the clothes worn as well as the frequency of use of a sunscreen.
An exposure to the sun from thirty minutes to an hour
The relapses of MS have been defined as new or recurring symptoms for at least 24 hours and separated from at least 30 days compared to the last crisis, without fever or infection. 62 % of the children in the group studied thus experienced at least one relapse of their illness during the study.
Scientists found that 45 % of the 75 participants who had benefited from 30 minutes to one hour of sun per day in summer during their first year of life, had made a relapse. The rate was 65 % among young people who were exposed to the sun less than 30 min a day.
“After adjusting the factors such as tobacco exposure during the first year of life, the birth season, the type of MS medication taken and the use of sun protection as a sunscreen, of the Hats and clothes, the researchers found that 30 minutes or more daily sun in summer during the first year of life were associated with a risk of a 33 % lower relapse compared to less than 30 minutes of daily sun in summer “”write the authors in their press release.
Sep and sun: a link also observed during pregnancy
The sun’s bath seems to be beneficial even when it is taken by the mother. Indeed, the data reveal that 30 minutes or more of daily exposure to the sun during the second trimester of pregnancy were associated with a 32 % reduction in the risk of relapse for the child with MS.
“Our results suggest that sun exposure during early childhood can have sustainable beneficial effects on the progression of MS beginning in childhood”concludes Gina Chang.
The researchers plan to continue their work by studying the effects of the time spent in the sun at other periods of life on the evolution of multiple sclerosis. The objective is to collect enough data to guide the recommendations made to children with MP.
