AUTHOR=Shaw Michael T. , Pawlak Natalie O. , Frontario Ariana , Sherman Kathleen , Krupp Lauren B. , Charvet Leigh E. 

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

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neurology

VOLUME=8

YEAR=2017

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neurology/articles/10.3389/fneur.2017.00242

DOI=10.3389/fneur.2017.00242

ISSN=1664-2295

ABSTRACT=<sec id="ST1"><title>Background</title><p>Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) exert a psychological and physiological toll that increases risk of chronic conditions, poorer social functioning, and cognitive impairment in adulthood.</p></sec><sec id="ST2"><title>Objective</title><p>To investigate the relationship between childhood adversity and clinical disease features in multiple sclerosis (MS).</p></sec><sec id="ST3"><title>Methods</title><p>Sixty-seven participants with MS completed the ACE assessment and neuropsychological assessments as part of a larger clinical trial of cognitive remediation.</p></sec><sec id="ST4"><title>Results</title><p>Adverse childhood experience scores, a measure of exposure to adverse events in childhood, significantly predicted age of MS onset (<italic>r</italic> = –0.30, <italic>p</italic> = 0.04). ACEs were also linked to reading recognition (a proxy for premorbid IQ) (<italic>r</italic> = –0.25, <italic>p</italic> = 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).</p></sec><sec id="ST5"><title>Conclusion</title><p>Childhood adversity may increase the likelihood of earlier age of onset and poorer estimated premorbid IQ in MS.</p></sec>