Key clinical point : Exposure to passive smoking during adolescence is a strong risk factor for developing multiple sclerosis (MS) in later life.
Major finding : Among never smokers, female patients with MS more often than healthy control participants reported exposure to passive smoking between the age of 10 and 19 years (women: odds ratio [OR], 1.432; P = .037 and men: OR, 1.232; P = .390). Among active smokers aged 19 years or older, male MS patients more often than male control participants reported with passive smoking (men: OR, 1.593; P = .022 and women: OR, 1.102; P = .440).
Study details : The data come from a case-control study of 919 MS cases and 3,419 controls (never active smokers: 342/822 cases/controls; active smokers aged 19 years or older: 577/2,597 cases/controls).
Disclosures: This study was supported by grants from the Danish Multiple Sclerosis Society, the Danish Council for Strategic Research, Novartis, Biogen (Denmark), the Sofus Carl Emil Friis og Hustru Olga Doris Friis foundation, the Foundation for Research in Neurology, and the Director Einar Jonasson (Johnsen) and Wife foundation. Some of the authors reported receiving research support from various pharmaceutical companies.
Citation: Oturai DB et al. Mult Scler. 2020 Mar 23. doi: 10.1177/1352458520912500.