THURSDAY, Feb. 13, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Children who develop multiple sclerosis appear to fare better if they were exposed to safe amounts of summer sunshine as infants, new research shows.
If their moms got some summer sun while pregnant, that seemed to help, too, according to a study published Feb. 12 in the journal Neurology.
“It is important not to spend too much time in the sun without sun protection, however greater exposure to sun has been tied in previous research to a lower risk of developing MS in childhood,” lead study author Dr. Gina Chang, a neurology resident at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, noted.
“It’s encouraging that our study found that greater sun exposure during early development may also be beneficial in helping to reduce disease activity in children who are later diagnosed with MS,” she said in a journal news release.
The study involved 334 kids and young adults, ages 4 to 21, who had all developed a childhood form of MS within four years of enrolling in the study.
Their symptoms were tracked for a median of 3.3 years, meaning half were tracked longer. Overall, 62% of the children had experienced some form of MS relapse, defined as “new or returning symptoms lasting for at least 24 hours and separated by at least 30 days from the last MS attack, without a fever or infection.”
The participants’ parents or guardians also filled out questionnaires on how much sunlight the child and mother had gotten at various periods of life, what type of clothing they typically wore, and their use of sunscreen.
After adjusting for numerous factors, including the use of sunscreen, hats and clothing, the data showed that children who got 30 minutes or more of daily summer sunlight in infancy had a 33% lower chance of MS relapse.
The team also found that the same amount of sunlight experienced by mothers during the second trimester of pregnancy was linked to a 32% lowered odds for MS relapse in her child.
“Our findings suggest that sun exposure in early childhood may have long-lasting benefits on the progression of childhood-onset MS,” Chang said.
“Future studies should look at how time in the sun at other time periods before and after MS diagnosis affects disease course, to better guide sun exposure recommendations for children with MS and to help design potential clinical trials,” she added.
More information
Find out more about childhood multiple sclerosis at the Cleveland Clinic.
SOURCE: Neurology, news release, Feb. 12, 2025
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