Age at Menarche and Risk of Multiple Sclerosis (MS): A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis: An Update
Mahsa Ghajarzadeh1, Zahra Shahraki2, Mohsen Rastkar3
1Johns Hopkins, 2Zabol University, 3Tums
Objective:

We designed this systematic review and meta-analysis to estimate the pooled mean age at menarche difference between women with MS and controls and also update the odds of developing MS by increasing age at menarche.

Background:
Sex hormones play role in development of autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS). In our previous systematic review, we included three studies and reported the pooled odds ratio (OR) for increasing 1 year of age at menarche and risk of MS as 0.88.
Design/Methods:

PubMed, Scopus, EMBASE, Web of Science, Google scholar were systematically searched by two independent researchers on July 1st, 2023.

Results:

A literature search revealed 634 records, 29 full-texts were evaluated, and finally, 15 studies remained for systematic review. The SMDs of age at menarche (control group – case group) ranged between -0.18 and 1.41.

The pooled SMD of age at menarche (controls-cases) was 0.17 (95% CI:0.09-0.25) (I2=85.1%, p<0.001). OR for age at menarche and risk of MS ranged between 0.8 and 1.76, and the pooled OR for increasing 1 year of age at menarche estimated as 0.92(95% CI: 0.89-0.94) (I2=41.6%, P=0.07).

Conclusions:

The results of this systematic review show that the mean age at menarche is higher in controls than women with MS, and the risk of MS decreases by increasing age at menarche.

10.1212/WNL.0000000000208877
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