EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL 4 PM ET, September 28, 2016
Exercise Not Shown to Reduce Women鈥檚 Risk of Developing MS
MINNEAPOLIS -
A large, new study shows no evidence that exercise may reduce a woman鈥檚 risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS). The research is published in the September 28, 2016, online issue of , the medical journal of the 好色先生. Previous small studies had shown conflicting results. 鈥淲e wanted to find out if exercise lowered the risk of developing MS in women,鈥 said study author Kassandra Munger, ScD, of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, Mass. 鈥淥ur study did not provide evidence to support it.鈥 Researchers evaluated data on more than 193,000 women who participated in the Nurses鈥 Health Study and Nurses鈥 Health Study II and were followed for up to 20 years. The women completed regular questionnaires about their physical activity and also about their activity as teens and young adults. During the study, 341 women developed MS. Researchers calculated the total hours of physical activity per week, took into account the type of exercise for each woman and adjusted for age, ethnicity, smoking, supplemental vitamin D, place of residence at age 15 and body mass index at age 18. 鈥淥verall, there was no consistent association of exercise at any age and MS,鈥 Munger said. 鈥淓xercise has been shown to be beneficial to people with the disease, but it seems unlikely that exercise protects against the risk of developing MS.鈥 The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health. To learn more about multiple sclerosis, visit .