An increased risk of multiple sclerosis among smokers has been found in several prospective epidemiological studies.

Investigators from Harvard School of Public Health in Boston evaluated the association between smoking and progression of multiple sclerosis.

They conducted a case-control study nested in the GPRD ( General Practice Research Database ) between January 1993 and December 2000.

Nested case-control study included 201 cases of multiple sclerosis and 1913 controls.

The odds ratio of multiple sclerosis was 1.3 for ever smokers compared with never smokers.

The hazard ratio of secondary progression was 3.6 for ever smokers compared with never smokers.

The results of this study support the hypothesis that cigarette smoking is associated with an increased risk of multiple sclerosis.

Smoking may be a risk factor for transforming a relapsing-remitting clinical course into a secondary progressive course.

Source : Brain, 2005


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