| A study of over 20,000 people has revealed that smoking
cigarettes is a risk factor in contracting Multiple Sclerosis. In
the study, conducted by researchers in Norway, 22,312 people between
the ages of 40 and 47 years of age, information was collected using
detailed questionnaires and physical examinations.
When the information was collated differentiating between men and
women who took part in the study and who have multiple sclerosis,
the results were startling.
They showed that women are one and a half times more likely to
contract Multiple Sclerosis if they smoke and men were almost three
times as likely to contract Multiple Sclerosis if they smoked.
When both sexes were looked at together, the overall picture was
almost a doubling of the risk of contracting Multiple Sclerosis
(rate ratio 1.81, 95% CI 1.1 to 2.9; p = 0.014). |
