Adverse Childhood Experiences Are Linked to Age of Onset and Reading Recognition in Multiple Sclerosis.

BACKGROUND

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) exert a psychological and physiological toll that increases risk of chronic conditions, poorer social functioning, and cognitive impairment in adulthood.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the relationship between childhood adversity and clinical disease features in multiple sclerosis (MS).

METHODS

Sixty-seven participants with MS completed the ACE assessment and neuropsychological assessments as part of a larger clinical trial of cognitive remediation.

RESULTS

Adverse childhood experience scores, a measure of exposure to adverse events in childhood, significantly predicted age of MS onset ( = -0.30,  = 0.04). ACEs were also linked to reading recognition (a proxy for premorbid IQ) ( = -0.25,  = 0.04). ACE scores were not related to age, current disability, or current level of cognitive impairment measured by the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT).

CONCLUSION

Childhood adversity may increase the likelihood of earlier age of onset and poorer estimated premorbid IQ in MS.