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Secondhand Tobacco Smoke and Pediatric MS Risk
Mult Scler; ePub 2018 Feb 2; Lavery, Collins, et al
Childhood exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke (SHS) is a risk factor for central nervous system (CNS) demyelination, according to a recent study, and results suggest that SHS exposure and HLA-DRB1*15 alleles interact to increase the risk for multiple sclerosis (MS) in children diagnosed with pediatric acquired demyelinating syndromes that are monophasic (mono-ADS). This study examined SHS exposure in 216 children with mono-ADS and 81 children with MS. Interactions between SHS, HLA-DRB1*15 alleles, serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations, and serological evidence of remote Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) exposure were evaluated. Researchers found:
- SHS exposure was more common in children with MS (37% exposed) compared to mono-ADS (29.5% exposed).
- Compared to mono-ADS, SHS exposure was not an independent risk factor for MS.
- When both SHS exposure and HLA-DRB1*15 were present, the odds for MS increased (odds ratio [OR] = 3.7) compared to mono-ADS.
- Interactions between SHS and vitamin D or EBV did not associate with MS.
Lavery AM, Collins BN, Waldman AT, et al. The contribution of secondhand tobacco smoke exposure to pediatric multiple sclerosis risk. [Published online ahead of print February 2, 2018]. Mult Scler. doi:10.1177/1352458518757089.