Smoking rates and smoking cessation among individuals with multiple sclerosis

Abstract

Efficacious smoking cessation interventions for smokers with MS should be developed to address a critical health need for a population of highly nicotine-dependent smokers who face numerous obstacles to quitting.

Nicotine and inflammatory neurological disorders

“…Epidemiological studies have shown an association of smoking with a higher occurrence of MS [35,37,39] , while our results show that nicotine exposure significantly delays and attenuates inflammatory and autoimmune responses to myelin antigens in the mouse experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) model [40] . This occurs whether nicotine treatment begins prior to, at the time of, or after immunization with myelin antigens to induce EAE.…”

“…Moreover, several epidemiological studies reveal a strong inverse correlation between smoking and human autoimmune responses manifesting as SLE and ulcerative colitis [32,33] . By contrast, other studies suggest that smoking behavior in humans might exacerbate multiple sclerosis (MS) and Crohn's disease [34][35][36][37][38][39] . Our recent results show that nicotine exposure significantly delays and attenuates inflammatory and autoimmune responses to myelin antigens in the mouse experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) model [40] .…”

Nicotinic Attenuation of Central Nervous System Inflammation and Autoimmunity

“…Moreover, several epidemiological studies reveal a strong inverse correlation between smoking and human autoimmune responses manifest as systemic lupus erythematosus and ulcerative colitis (10,11). By contrast, other studies suggest that smoking behavior in humans might exacerbate multiple sclerosis (MS) and Crohn's disease (12)(13)(14). These apparently conflicting observations suggest that the impact of nicotine on immune responses in vivo is complex, being potentially influenced by drug dosage and duration of exposure, by the specific organ systems involved in the immune response, by the stage and type of disease, and by the level of involvement of autoimmune and inflammatory mechanisms.…”

Individual and Co-occurring SNAP Risk Factors

“…This is comparable with previous investigations of smoking in people with MS wherein 15.2% of participants reported smoking. 9 Excess alcohol consumption was reported by 10.1% of the sample, which is lower than the 13% to 40% of participants who screened positive for possible alcohol abuse or dependence in other investigations. [6][7][8] The two risk factors did not often co-occur (only the 1.4% of the sample reporting all four SNAP risk factors reported smoking and excess alcohol consumption together).…”

“…[6][7][8] One study examined smoking rates in 350 individuals with MS and reported current smoking in 15.2%. 9 Participants who were current smokers reported heavier smoking (20-30 cigarettes daily) and smoking for 10 years or longer. Regarding nutritional behaviors, one cross-sectional analysis of people with MS reported that less than half of the participants (47.5%) engaged in healthy nutritional behaviors.…”