Tobacco Smoking

    Smoking tobacco has been linked to the progression of many different diseases including multiple sclerosis. The aim of this particular cohort study was to look into the effects of tobacco use in regards to disability and severity of diseases. About half of the people studied were regular smokers, and other participants had stopped smoking when they realized that they had a risk of developing this disease. The data collected led to the information that regular smoking is associated with severe diseases and faster progression of those particular diseases. 

    Multiple sclerosis is a chronic disease due to an unknown cause of the immune response affecting the central nervous system. It is characterized by: demyelination, inflammation and damage in the brain/ spine. Progression is effected by unknown genetic and environmental factors. About half of the multiple sclerosis patients are linked to smoking, which is an avoidable contact.  Smoking also has negative progressive effects on other diseases like neurodegenerative conditions and some autoimmune disorders, for example Parkinson’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

    This study collected data from patients from Lincolnshire and Derbyshire in the United Kingdom. The clients had to have multiple sclerosis, and also must be seen regularly to receive treatment for the chronic disorder. Different genders, ages and duration of the disease were used. From there, patients were grouped into categories of receiving treatment for less than one year, or more than one year. Each person was summarized by their smoking habits, by the onset of multiple sclerosis, and how severe their disease was.

    About half of the patients had relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis, 39% had secondary multiple sclerosis, and 11% had primary progressive multiple sclerosis. Only a small amount of participants stopped smoking before the onset of the disease, as well as stopped smoking within ten years of finding out they developed multiple sclerosis. No significant differences were shown in the proportion in relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis and the secondary progressive multiple sclerosis groups. 

Manouchehrinia, Ali, Christopher R. Tench, Jonathan Maxted, Rashid H. Bibani, Cris S. Constantinescu, and John Britton. "Tobacco Smoking and Disability Progression in Multiple Sclerosis: United Kingdom Cohort Study." (2013): 1-7. PubMed. Web. 12 June 2013. <http://brain.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2013/06/11/brain.awt139.full.pdf+html>.