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Table 3 Environmental exposures during childhood and adolescence in patients and controls

From: Environmental exposures and the risk of multiple sclerosis investigated in a Norwegian case-control study

 

MS patients

Controls

Unadjusted analysisa

Adjusted analysisb

(n = 530)

(n = 918)

p-value, OR (95% CI)

p-value, OR (95% CI)

Infectious mononucleosis, n (%)*

84 (19.0)

106 (12.3)

0.001, 1.69 (1.23-2.30)

0.016, 1.79 (1.12-2.87)

Hospitalized for infection before age 18, n (%)

    

Pneumonia

16 (3.1)

23 (2.5)

0.55, 1.22 (0.64-2.33)

0.67, 1.26 (0.45-3.56)

Urinary tract/kidney infection

16 (3.1)

25 (2.7)

0.73, 1.12 (0.59-2.12)

0.43, 0.64 (0.22-1.91)

Gastrointestinal infection

7 (1.3)

15 (1.6)

0.65, 0.81 (0.33-2.00)

0.36, 0.35 (0.038-3.28)

Encephalitis/meningitis

10 (1.9)

3 (0.3)

0.007, 5.91 (1.62-21.58)

0.76, 1.56 (0.95-23.37)

Other infection

27 (5.2)

37 (4.1)

0.33, 1.29 (0.78-2.14)

0.78, 1.10 (0.55-2.23)

Participation in childhood immunisation programme, n (%)

490 (98.8)

873 (99.0)

0.75, 0.84 (0.30-2.38)

0.88, 1.14 (0.21-6.20)

Household pets before age 18, n (%)

    

Cat

207 (39.7)

463 (51.0)

3.6x10-5, 0.63 (0.51-0.79)

0.001, 0.56 (0.40-0.78)

Dog

192 (36.9)

427 (47.1)

1.73x10-4, 0.66 (0.53-0.82)

0.060, 0.73 (0.52-1.01)

Horse

32 (6.1)

63 (6.9)

0.54, 0.87 (0.56-1.35)

0.64, 0.86 (0.47-1.59)

Other animal

138 (26.5)

240 (26.5)

1.0, 1.0 (0.78-1.28)

0.85, 1.04 (0.71-1.52)

  1. Abbreviations: SD = Standard deviation, OR = Odds ratio, CI = Confidence interval.
  2. aLogistic regression, unadjusted.
  3. bLogistic regression adjusted for age (stratified into following quartiles: < 39, 39-45, 46-52 and > 52), gender, smoking status, mononucleosis and HLA-DRB1*15:01 status.
  4. *Not adjusted for mononucleosis.
  5. Missing values are not included in the calculations.