Mothers-to-be told drinking milk can reduce their baby's risk of MS

Published on Tuesday 9 February 2010 22:01

PREGNANT women can reduce their baby's risk of developing multiple sclerosis in later life by drinking milk, new research suggests.

The possible link between MS and milk emerged from a study of more than 35,000 female nurses whose mothers were asked for information about their diet during pregnancy.

But health campaigners said more information was needed about the relationship between milk and MS risks.

Scotland has one of the highest rates of MS in the world, though the reasons behind this remain unclear.

Some have suggested a lack of vitamin D, which is produced by exposure to sunshine, may partly explain the higher rates.

Figures show that about one in every 530 people in Scotland is diagnosed with MS.

Of the nurses taking part in the study, 199 developed multiple sclerosis (MS) over 16 years.

The researchers found the risk of MS was lower among women born to mothers who drank a lot of milk while pregnant. A similar trend was seen for vitamin D. Mothers who had a relatively high vitamin D intake during pregnancy also gave birth to daughters with a reduced risk of MS.

Dr Fariba Mirzaei, of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts, who led the study, said: "The risk of MS among daughters whose mothers consumed four glasses of milk per day was 56 per cent lower than daughters whose mothers consumed less than three glasses of milk per month.

"We also found the risk of MS among daughters whose mothers were in the top 20 per cent of vitamin D intake during pregnancy was 45 per cent lower than daughters whose mothers were in the bottom 20 per cent for vitamin D intake during pregnancy."

The researchers added: "There is growing evidence that vitamin D has an effect on MS. The results of this study suggest this effect may begin in the womb."

Exposure to sunlight, oily fish, such as salmon, and fortified milk are key sources of vitamin D.

The research was presented today at the American Academy of Neurology's annual meeting in Toronto, Canada.

Susan Kohlhaas, research communications officer for the MS Society, said: "It has long been thought that vitamin D may play a role in MS, and general health advice states people should make sure they are getting enough by maintaining a good diet and safe exposure to sunlight."

About 100,000 people in the UK suffer from MS, an auto-immune disease which destroys the fatty insulating sheath of myelin that coats nerve fibres in the brain and spinal cord.

STUDY EXTENDED

A NEW study to identify any rare side effects of the swine flu vaccination in Scotland is to be extended to include children under the age of 16, it was revealed yesterday.

The study, by the Medicines Monitoring Unit (Memo), at Dundee University, was launched last November.

The decision to include children in the study has been taken in response to requests from parents, following the recent decision to extend the target groups for swine flu vaccination to include children between the age of six months and five years.

A spokesman for Dundee University said: "Follow-up of large numbers of people can identify any very rare side effects that cannot normally be identified through routine clinical trials."