The relationship between obesity, sex difference,and fatigue in patients with multiple sclerosis

Abstract

Aim Obesity is a risk factor for autoimmune disorders and worsens the disease process. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between the body mass index (BMI), sex differences and fatigue in MS patients compared to healthy controls.Methods Our study consisted of 59 MS patients (37 females, 22 males) and 45 healthy controls. Medical history of MS patients, including the duration of illness, BMI, Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS)
number of annual episodes, demographic data (sex, age) and BMI and fatigue severity of healthy control group were recorded.Results The female MS patients had a significantly higher mean BMI than the control group and a significant positive correlation between BMI and Extended Disability Scale Score (EDSS)
and fatigue. There was no significant difference between the male MS patients’ BMI and that of controls. Obese MS patient group had a significantly higher mean fatigue level than the normoweight and overweight ones and significantly higher mean annual attack number than the normoweight MS group. In the female MS patients group, the mean BMI and EDSS of Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) ≥4 group were significantly higher than of FSS <4 group but there was no significant correlation between the FSS ≥4 and FSS <4 groups in the male MS patients.Conclusion These findings suggest that being obese in MS patients may affect attacks via inflammatory pathway as well as disability, particularly so in women; they also show the necessity of approaches encouraging weight loss for MS treatment

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