Study: Smoking Increases MS Risk

Picking up smoking as a teenager may increase the risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS) later in life.

A new study conducted by Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine found early smokers, people who started the habit before the age of 17, were nearly three times more likely to develop MS than nonsmokers.

Nearly 90 people who have MS were sampled in the research.  Scientists divided the patients into three groups; nonsmokers, early smokers and late smokers.

Researchers said studies show that environmental factors play a prominent role in multiple sclerosis and   early smoking is an environmental factor that can be avoided.

SOURCE: American Academy of Neurology, February 2009

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