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Meta-Analysis
. 2016 May-Jun;167(3):82-92.
doi: 10.7417/CT.2016.1932.

Smoking as a risk factor for developing Multiple Sclerosis: A meta-analysis of observational studies

I Backhaus  1 , A Mannocci  2 , P H H M Lemmens  3 , G La Torre  2
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Smoking as a risk factor for developing Multiple Sclerosis: A meta-analysis of observational studies

I Backhaus et al. Clin Ter. 2016 May-Jun.

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to improve and update the pool of available studies included in the previous meta-analyses, and to provide further evidence about smoking as a risk factor for MS.

Material and methods: PubMed and Scopus searches were undertaken to identify studies investigating the association between cigarette smoking and MS. Odds ratio (OR), relative risk (RR) together with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated for case-control and cohort studies and prevalence rate for cross sectional.

Results: 33 studies were suitable for the meta-analysis. The summary OR for case control studies (ever versus never) was 1.40 (95% CI, 1.29 to 1.52) and 1.42 (1.26-1.60) for current vs. no-smokers.

Conclusions: Smoking is associated with MS risk. Research using animal models can help to fully understand the mechanisms behind the association.

Keywords: Meta-analysis; Multiple sclerosis; Observational studies; Risk factor; Smoking.

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