Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30894442›Full record

ArticleNeurology2019

Effect of age at puberty on risk of multiple sclerosis: A mendelian randomization study.

Adil Harroud, John A Morris, Vincenzo Forgetta, Ruth Mitchell, George Davey Smith, Stephen J Sawcer, J Brent Richards

Open access · bronzeAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Neurology, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
22citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
2.9field-weighted citation impact, top 9% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

22 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 35 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Guideline
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  6. Impact of sex on multiple sclerosis therapy.Neurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 1 institution in 3 countries.

Adil HarroudFrom the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery (A.H.), Department of Human Genetics (J.A.M., V.F., J.B.R.), Department of Medicine (J.B.R.), and Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health (J.B.R.), McGill University; Centre for Clinical Epidemiology (A.H., J.A.M., V.F., J.B.R.), Department of Epidemiology, Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit (R.M., G.D.S.), School of Social and Community Medicine, and Population Health Sciences (R.M., G.D.S., S.J.S.), Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol; Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, University of Cambridge; and Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology (J.B.R.), King's College London, UK.
John A MorrisFrom the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery (A.H.), Department of Human Genetics (J.A.M., V.F., J.B.R.), Department of Medicine (J.B.R.), and Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health (J.B.R.), McGill University; Centre for Clinical Epidemiology (A.H., J.A.M., V.F., J.B.R.), Department of Epidemiology, Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit (R.M., G.D.S.), School of Social and Community Medicine, and Population Health Sciences (R.M., G.D.S., S.J.S.), Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol; Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, University of Cambridge; and Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology (J.B.R.), King's College London, UK.
Vincenzo ForgettaFrom the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery (A.H.), Department of Human Genetics (J.A.M., V.F., J.B.R.), Department of Medicine (J.B.R.), and Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health (J.B.R.), McGill University; Centre for Clinical Epidemiology (A.H., J.A.M., V.F., J.B.R.), Department of Epidemiology, Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit (R.M., G.D.S.), School of Social and Community Medicine, and Population Health Sciences (R.M., G.D.S., S.J.S.), Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol; Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, University of Cambridge; and Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology (J.B.R.), King's College London, UK.
Ruth MitchellFrom the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery (A.H.), Department of Human Genetics (J.A.M., V.F., J.B.R.), Department of Medicine (J.B.R.), and Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health (J.B.R.), McGill University; Centre for Clinical Epidemiology (A.H., J.A.M., V.F., J.B.R.), Department of Epidemiology, Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit (R.M., G.D.S.), School of Social and Community Medicine, and Population Health Sciences (R.M., G.D.S., S.J.S.), Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol; Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, University of Cambridge; and Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology (J.B.R.), King's College London, UK.
George Davey SmithFrom the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery (A.H.), Department of Human Genetics (J.A.M., V.F., J.B.R.), Department of Medicine (J.B.R.), and Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health (J.B.R.), McGill University; Centre for Clinical Epidemiology (A.H., J.A.M., V.F., J.B.R.), Department of Epidemiology, Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit (R.M., G.D.S.), School of Social and Community Medicine, and Population Health Sciences (R.M., G.D.S., S.J.S.), Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol; Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, University of Cambridge; and Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology (J.B.R.), King's College London, UK.
Stephen J SawcerFrom the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery (A.H.), Department of Human Genetics (J.A.M., V.F., J.B.R.), Department of Medicine (J.B.R.), and Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health (J.B.R.), McGill University; Centre for Clinical Epidemiology (A.H., J.A.M., V.F., J.B.R.), Department of Epidemiology, Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit (R.M., G.D.S.), School of Social and Community Medicine, and Population Health Sciences (R.M., G.D.S., S.J.S.), Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol; Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, University of Cambridge; and Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology (J.B.R.), King's College London, UK.ORCID 0000-0001-7685-0974
J Brent RichardsFrom the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery (A.H.), Department of Human Genetics (J.A.M., V.F., J.B.R.), Department of Medicine (J.B.R.), and Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health (J.B.R.), McGill University; Centre for Clinical Epidemiology (A.H., J.A.M., V.F., J.B.R.), Department of Epidemiology, Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit (R.M., G.D.S.), School of Social and Community Medicine, and Population Health Sciences (R.M., G.D.S., S.J.S.), Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol; Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, University of Cambridge; and Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology (J.B.R.), King's College London, UK. brent.richards@mcgill.ca.
King's College London · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo investigate the potential for a causal effect of age at puberty on multiple sclerosis (MS) susceptibility using a mendelian randomization (MR) approach.

methodsWe used 372 genetic variants strongly associated with age at menarche in a genome-wide association study (GWAS) involving 329,245 women. The genetic architecture of pubertal timing across both sexes is highly correlated (genetic correlation [

resultsA 1-year increase in genetically predicted age at puberty decreased odds of MS by 8% (odds ratio [OR] 0.92, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.86-0.99,

conclusionsWe found support for an association between higher age at puberty and decreased risk of MS with a magnitude comparable to that reported in observational studies. This effect appears to be largely mediated by the strong association between age at puberty and obesity. A large causal effect of pubertal timing independent of BMI is unlikely.

Indexed as

Age FactorsBody Mass IndexFemaleGenome-Wide Association StudyHumansMaleMendelian Randomization AnalysisMultiple SclerosisPolymorphism, Single NucleotidePubertyRisk Factors

Identifiers

PMID30894442
PMCPMC6550505
OpenAlexW2806596772

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.