AAN 2024 | Impact of parental smoking on MS risk

Caterina Ferri, MD, PhD, St Anna University Hospital, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy, discusses her research evaluating the association between parental smoking and risk for multiple sclerosis (MS). Active smoking is a known risk factor and prognostic factor for MS, and passive smoke exposure has been suggested as a risk factor. Parental smoking is little studied. This large, multinational case-control study examined the effect of maternal smoking during pregnancy and maternal or paternal smoking using data from the Environmental Risk Factors In Multiple Sclerosis (EnvIMS) cohort.
In Norwegians, maternal smoking during pregnancy was associated with MS after adjusting for index age and smoking habits. A tendency for paternal smoking to be associated with MS was seen in Canadians, but in Italians, no association was found between parental smoking and MS. Dr Ferri discusses potential reasons for the different associations noted across the various populations studied, including genetic predisposition and environmental exposures. This interview took place at the European Academy of Neurology (EAN) Annual Meeting 2024 in Helsinki, Finland.

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