News
Smoking and MS
Posted on Tuesday, 31 January 2012
There is significant evidence that smoking increases the risk of developing MS and that it also affects the rate at which MS progresses.
Over the past decade, a number of studies on the association between smoking and MS have been conducted worldwide in countries where MS is prevalent, including Norway, Sweden, the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. Here in Tasmania, the Menzies Research Institute conducted a study from 2002 to 2004 to examine the association between smoking and MS. This particular study concluded that, “smoking was associated with worsening clinical measures of disease progression.” (Pittas et al 2009)
The results of all these studies are clear. Compared with a non-smoker:
- A person who smokes is more likely to develop MS.
- A smoker runs a greater risk of developing primary progressive MS rather than relapsing-remitting.
- A smoker runs an increased risk of progressing from relapsing-remitting MS to a secondary progressive form.
- A smoker can have more rapid progression of their symptoms, with more clinical relapses, a more rapid progression of disability, and the development of more new lesions that are visible on MRI scans.
Scientific evidence also suggests that a smoker with MS can slow down their disease progression if they give up smoking.
While not yet fully explored by the scientific community, some other important facts have emerged from the research:
- Passive smoking appears to create the risk of developing MS. A research project conducted in France in 2007 concluded that the children of parents who smoke have an increased tendency to develop MS.
- Heavy smokers are at greater risk of adverse effects than those who smoke less.
In his very recent research paper on this subject, Dean M. Wingerchuk (2012) concludes that ” the available evidence supports cigarette smoking as an independent risk factor for MS susceptibility and associates smoking with a greater chance of developing progressive disease and accruing more rapid disability.”
If you would like to give up smoking, speak to your GP or contact Quit Tasmania on 137 848 for information, advice and support, or to order a free Quit Pack.
References:
Adam E. Handel et al. Smoking and Multiple Sclerosis: An Updated Meta-Analysis
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0016149
Brian C. Healy, et al. Smoking and Disease Progression in Multiple Sclerosis
http://archneur.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/66/7/858.pdf
The following articles are not available online. If you would like a printed copy, please contact the MS Society on 1800 676 721.
Fotini Pittas et al. Smoking is associated with progressive disease course and increased progression in clinical disability in a prospective cohort of people with multiple sclerosis
Dean M. Wingerchuk Smoking: effects on multiple sclerosis susceptibility and disease progression
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