Family smoking increases risk of childhood MS

MS is a neurological disorder that usually manifests in early adulthood. However, in rare cases, it can develop in childhood or adolescence — this is known as paediatric-onset MS.

Limiting children’s exposure to cigarette smoke may reduce chances of onset paediatric multiple sclerosis. And if your parents smoked in the three months before pregnancy, childhood MS increased tenfold, according to a small Italian study.

The findings suggest that early-life exposure to cigarette smoke, including around the time of conception, may influence a child’s risk of developing MS.

‘Limiting children’s exposure to cigarette smoke may contribute to reducing the risk of MS onset. Promoting smoke-free environments therefore represents a potential avenue for primary prevention in susceptible paediatric populations,’ researchers wrote.

While causes of MS remain largely unknown, there are several risk factors that have been identified. Significant research has consistently shown that people who smoke cigarettes, or who are exposed to second hand smoke, are more likely to develop MS.

While emerging evidence seems to suggest that exposure to cigarette smoke also increases the risk of developing MS in childhood or adolescence, this is less well established, so a study was conducted by Italian scientists called PEDIGREE.

PEDIGREE is an initiative in Italy aiming to identify genetic and environmental risk factors for paediatric MS. As part of the study, parents completed questionnaires detailing their smoking histories, and the team used statistical analyses to examine links between parental smoking and MS risk.

Results showed that, for patients ages 10-17, having ever smoked cigarettes was not significantly associated with a greater likelihood of having MS. However, if both parents had a history of smoking, the likelihood of MS for the child was significantly increased by 79% after accounting for other factors.

This ‘highlights a potentially relevant role of parental smoking exposure in [paediatric MS] susceptibility,’ the researchers wrote.

If you’d like to understand more about children and MS why not take a read of our Choices booklet, Children and MS?

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If you need help to stop smoking, visit the NHS Stop Smoking service.