Teen Smokers May Triple Their Multiple Sclerosis Risk

New research from Johns Hopkins University suggests that teenagers who smoke may triple their risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS) later in life, the Associated Press reported Feb. 23.

In the first study to examine the link between MS and early smoking, lead researcher Joseph Finkelstein and colleagues analyzed data from the 2002 National Health Interview Survey. The researchers found that 19.3 percent of healthy people in the general population (435 patients) began smoking before age 17, while 32.6 percent of people with MS (87 patients) started smoking early.

Early smokers were 2.7 times more likely to develop MS than those who had never smoked; those who started smoking after the age of 17 saw no increased MS risk, the study found.

Earlier research has linked MS to smoking, and many scientists believe early-life exposure to an unidentified “mysterious factor” triggers MS. Finkelstein said that the tissue damage caused by smoking and the body’s immune system response may result in early smoking predisposing individuals to MS.

The findings will be presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology in April.