Smoking cigarettes increases the risk of multiple sclerosis (MS), and the substance that makes cigarettes addictive, nicotine, doesn't seem to be at fault.
Smoking cigarettes increases the risk of multiple sclerosis (MS), and the substance that makes cigarettes addictive, nicotine, doesn't seem to be at fault.
Past studies have confirmed the risk of developing multiple sclerosis among smokers. But to look at the dose - how much and how long people smoked, researchers studied 902 people suffering with multiple sclerosis and 1,855 controls in Sweden to estimate the influence of tobacco smoking and Swedish snuff use on the risk of developing multiple sclerosis.
It was found that smokers had an increased risk of developing multiple sclerosis compared to never smokers. Fifty-seven percent of the MS patients reported being ever-smokers in the year before diagnosis, compared to 48 percent of controls at an equivalent point in time.
Overall, ever-smokers were 1.5 times more likely to have MS than never-smokers, while the risk was 1.6-fold greater for current smokers and 1.4 times greater for past smokers compared with never-smokers. Male smokers were 2 times as likely to have MS as non-smokers, and MS risk increased 1.4-fold for women who smoked, people who used Swedish snuff were actually less likely to have the disease.
But for snuff users, risk of MS was 20 percent lower than it was for people who had never used any kind of tobacco. The longer they'd used snuff, the lower their risk; the longer a person smoked, the higher their risk.
The researchers concluded that smokers of both the sexes have an increased risk of developing multiple sclerosis. And, the risk increases with the dose of smoking. However, the use of Swedish snuff was not associated with developing MS risk, which may indicate that nicotine is not the substance responsible for the risk of developing MS among smokers.
Past studies have confirmed the risk of developing multiple sclerosis among smokers. But to look at the dose - how much and how long people smoked, researchers studied 902 people suffering with multiple sclerosis and 1,855 controls in Sweden to estimate the influence of tobacco smoking and Swedish snuff use on the risk of developing multiple sclerosis.
It was found that smokers had an increased risk of developing multiple sclerosis compared to never smokers. Fifty-seven percent of the MS patients reported being ever-smokers in the year before diagnosis, compared to 48 percent of controls at an equivalent point in time.
Overall, ever-smokers were 1.5 times more likely to have MS than never-smokers, while the risk was 1.6-fold greater for current smokers and 1.4 times greater for past smokers compared with never-smokers. Male smokers were 2 times as likely to have MS as non-smokers, and MS risk increased 1.4-fold for women who smoked, people who used Swedish snuff were actually less likely to have the disease.
But for snuff users, risk of MS was 20 percent lower than it was for people who had never used any kind of tobacco. The longer they'd used snuff, the lower their risk; the longer a person smoked, the higher their risk.
The researchers concluded that smokers of both the sexes have an increased risk of developing multiple sclerosis. And, the risk increases with the dose of smoking. However, the use of Swedish snuff was not associated with developing MS risk, which may indicate that nicotine is not the substance responsible for the risk of developing MS among smokers.
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