Unlike the previous research, the current analysis used polygenic risk scores for depression, which summarize the estimated effect of genetic variants to determine the potential association with MS disease activity, so results are less likely to be explained by reverse causality.

This study increases awareness of the link between depression and MS, study investigator Dr. Kaarina Kowalec, assistant professor at the College of Pharmacy in UM’s Rady Faculty of Health Sciences,  told Medscape Medical News. “We’re starting to understand how depression affects relapses and disability progression in MS,” she said.

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