Ilana Katz Sand1, Claire Wigley2, Kathryn Fitzgerald3, Robin Graney2, Nadia Garcia2, Maria Piedrabuena4, Francesco La Rosa2, Emma Dereskewicz2, kamso onyemeh2, Erin Beck2, James Sumowski5, Jennifer Graves4
1Corinne Goldsmith Dickinson Center for MS, 2Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 3Johns Hopkins University, 4UCSD, 5Icahn School of Medicine At Mount Sinai
Objective:
Evaluate relationships among dietary habits, biological aging markers and disability metrics in MS.
Background:
Previous work has established associations between MS-related disability and 1. dietary habits and 2. leukocyte telomere length (LTL) as a marker of biological aging. Here we evaluate relationships among diet, LTL, and disability in a cohort of people with early MS.
Design/Methods:
Using samples collected from the RADIEMS (Reserve against Disability in Early MS) research cohort (n=172, age range 24-56), we measured LTL as telomere to somatic DNA ratios (T/S ratio) using real time quantitative PCR assays. Dietary analysis used the Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener (MEDAS, scored 0-14, lower score indicates lower Mediterranean alignment); participants were divided into MEDAS quartiles. ANCOVA tested for differences in LTL across MEDAS quartiles, adjusting for age, sex, socioeconomic status, body mass index, and physical exercise. Disability worsening was defined as a 20% decline on any component (gait speed, upper extremity coordination, cognition) of the MS Functional Composite over the previous three to six years. Separate logistic regression models were employed to demonstrate association of disability worsening with MEDAS quartile and LTL, adjusting for aforementioned covariates.
Results:
There was a main effect of MEDAS on LTL (F[3,163]=5.81, p<0.001, ηp2=0.097) whereby LTL was lower in MEDAS Q1 (mean [95%CI]; 0.96 [0.91, 1.02]) than Q2 (1.10 [1.06, 1.15]), Q3 (1.10 [1.04, 1.17]), and Q4 (1.07 [1.02, 1.12]). Lower MEDAS score was associated with higher risk for longitudinal disability worsening on MSFC (p=0.003, OR [95%CI] 0.691 [0.543, 0.881]). Lower LTL was associated with worse EDSS at Year 6.
Conclusions:
Better alignment of dietary habits with a Mediterranean pattern is associated with longer LTL as well as with decreased risk for disability worsening over time. Further analyses will examine LTL and other biological aging metrics in this cohort in greater detail.
Disclaimer: Abstracts were not reviewed by Neurology® and do not reflect the views of Neurology® editors or staff.