International Journal of Preventive Medicine (Int J Prev Med)2008-780216220250315912ENDepartment of Neurology, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan Neuroscience Research Center, IsfahanDepartment of Neurology, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan Neuroscience Research Center, IsfahanDepartment of Neurology, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan Neuroscience Research Center, Isfahan1 Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan,Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan Neuroscience Research Center, Isfahan2 Farabi Psychiatry and Ophthalmology Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan20250315<p>Background: To compare characteristics of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) between cigarette smokers and non‑smokers. Methods: A case‑control study was performed on patients registered in the Kashani MS center from April 2019 to April 2020 in Isfahan, Iran. In total, 136 smoker patients and 220 non‑smokers participated in the study and completed the questionnaire. Results: The frequency of male gender in the smoker group was significantly higher than in the non‑smokers (64.7% vs. 15%, P &lt; 0.001). The mean age at MS onset was 31.5 ± 9.60 years among cigarette smokers and 29.7 ± 9.47 years among non‑smokers (P = 0.794). Furthermore, 80% of cigarette smokers and 64% of non‑smokers had at least one relapse per year (ARR ≥1, P &lt; 0.001). The Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) of more than 4.5 was significantly higher in smokers (26.5% vs. 18%, P = 0.023). There was a relation between an EDSS of more than 4.5 and an interval between smoking initiation and disease onset (P = 0.004). Long duration of smoking was associated with a higher disability scale (16.4 ± 9.5 vs. 9.8 ± 7.3, P = 0.008). Men smoked for a longer period of time before developing MS than women (9.24 ± 10.07 vs. 4.47 ± 7.61, P = 0.002). The average daily cigarette consumption was 7.74 ± 6.65 in women and 10.84 ± 9.44 in men (P = 0.024). Duration of smoking before the onset of the disease was 4.47 ± 7.61 years in women and 9.24 ± 10.07 in men (P = 0.002). Conclusions: Our data suggest that there is a possible relationship between disability score and the duration of smoking before the onset of MS. It also revealed that the duration of smoking can affect the progression of the disease. Further studies are suggested to confirm these findings.</p><p><span class="ej-journal-name" style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: italic; font-weight: 500; color: #3b3030; font-family: 'Fira Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">International Journal of Preventive Medicine<span> </span></span><span id="ej-journal-date-volume-issue-pg" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #3b3030; font-family: 'Fira Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><a style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #005b92; text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; cursor: pointer; outline: 0px;" href="https://journals.lww.com/ijom/pages/currenttoc.aspx">16():12, February 2025.</a></span><span style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #3b3030; font-family: 'Fira Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><span> </span>|<span> </span></span><span class="ej-journal-doi" style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: italic; font-weight: 500; color: #3b3030; font-family: 'Fira Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">DOI:<span> </span></span><span style="color: #3b3030; font-family: 'Fira Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline !important; float: none;">10.4103/ijpvm.ijpvm_336_23</span></p><p>Corresponding Author: <span class="fontstyle0">Prof. Fereshteh Ashtari</span></p><p>E‑mail: <span class="fontstyle0">f_ashtari@med.mui.ac.ir</span></p><p>You can also search for this author in: <a title="PubMed" href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=%28Fereshteh+Ashtari%5BAuthor%5D%29+AND+%28isfahan+University+of+Medical+sciences%5BAffiliation%5D%29&amp;sort=">PubMed</a> <a title="google scholar" href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=BoZq8KkAAAAJ&amp;hl=en&amp;oi=ao">Google Scholar</a></p>http://ijpm.mui.ac.ir/index.php/ijpm/article/view/2981http://ijpm.mui.ac.ir/index.php/ijpm/article/download/2981/717718822