Relationship of Smoking with Fatigue and Depression in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis

Objective: The relationship between smoking and the risk and progression of multiple sclerosis (MS) is known. We investigated the role of smoking on fatigue, depression, and disability in patients with MS. Materials and Methods: Three groups were included in our study. These were smokers with MS (n=40), non-smokers with MS (n=40), and healthy smokers (n=50) groups. Patients were diagnosed as having MS according to the 2010 revised McDonald diagnostic criteria. This study used a sociodemographic follow-up form, the neurological fatigue index, Fagerstrom test for nicotine dependence, and Beck depression inventory. Results: We showed that MS patients felt more fatigue than healthy individuals, but there was no difference regarding fatigue levels between smokers with MS and non-smokers with MS. In addition, we determined that smoking increased the level of depression, or those with depression might be smoking more. Conclusion: We believe that smoking is not associated with MS fatigue. However, smoking may be associated with the severity of patients' depression.