154,967 registered members Cigarettes linked to increased risk
of MS [Posted: Tue 01/09/2009 by Olivia Fens
www.irishhealth.com] Smoking cigarettes may significantly
increase a person’s risk of developing multiple sclerosis, a new
study has found. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most common
disabling neurological disease of young adults, with more than
7,000 people in Ireland affected by it. In a new study,
involving almost 2,800 people between the ages of 16 and 70,
researchers found that smoking almost doubled the risk of
developing MS in men. In women who smoked, the risk of
developing MS was nearly one-and-a-half times higher compared to
women who did not smoke. The risk remained high for up to five
years after the participant stopped smoking and the risk climbed
the more a person smoked. However, the researchers from the
Karolinska Institutet in Sweden said that more research was
needed to better understand the mechanisms behind the findings.
“Theories are that smoking may raise the risk of MS by increasi