Study Shows Smoking Causes More Rapid Cognitive Decline in Older Men

Cigarette smoking in men – especially older men – appears to be the cause of a more rapid cognitive decline, according to a report published in Online First by Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Smoking is increasingly recognized as a risk factor for dementia in the elderly and the number of dementia cases worldwide. In an earlier report on the study, the authors found that when smokers are compared with nonsmokers, the smokers have poorer memory and greater decline in reasoning over five years. Long-term ex-smokers – 10 years or more – did not show faster cognitive decline. They were more comparable to nonsmokers.

Séverine Sabia, Ph.D., of University College London, and colleagues used the Whitehall II cohort study, which is based on employees of the British Civil Service. “Our results show that the association between smoking and cognition, particularly at older ages, is likely to be underestimated, owing to higher risk of death and dropout among smokers,’’ the authors said.

To check out the study, go to http://archpsyc.amaassn.org/cgi/content/short/archgenpsychiatry.2011.2016.