Linking diet and the risk of MS

The link between diet and the risk of MS remains relatively poorly understood. Dr Lucinda Black and her international collaborators have been collecting dietary intake information for the past two years, with the aim of studying associations between diet and risk of MS.

They are pooling information from two different studies linking environmental factors to MS, the long established AusImmune study and the American MS Sunshine Study, with the hope that pooling data will lead to more robust results and new insights into the dietary risks associated with MS.

This award will allow for the scientists from both studies to continue collaborating and to support Dr Black visiting the Kaiser Permanente Institute (USA) for a period of two weeks in order to review the food records, establish a protocol for data analysis, and conduct preliminary analyses. This is a challenging project as dietary information by its very nature is large and complex, but by working closely together with other experts in this area, Dr Black will be able to maximise collaborative potential.

The results from this project will not only substantially improve our understanding of diet and risk of MS, but also provide evidence for the development of clinical trials in diet and early disease progression. It will further help develop evidence-based dietary recommendations for people at high risk of MS and/or at early stages of the disease.

Updated: 23 January 2019