Middle-aged smokers are far more likely to report having memory loss and confusion than nonsmokers, but cognitive decline drops among those in their 40s and 50s who have quit smoking, even recently, a new study says. Photo by Myriams-Fotos/Pixabay
Dec. 22 (UPI) — Middle-aged smokers are far more likely to report having memory loss and confusion than nonsmokers, but cognitive decline drops among those in their 40s and 50s who have quit smoking, even recently, a new study says.
The study led by researchers from The Ohio State University in Columbus, was published Thursday in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.
The prevalence of subjective cognitive decline among smokers surveyed for the study — determined by asking people if they had experienced worsening or more frequent memory loss and/or confusion — was almost 1.9 times that of nonsmokers, the researchers found.
Such cognitive decline among people who had quit smoking fewer than 10 years ago was 1.5 times that of nonsmokers.
But people who kicked the habit more than a decade before taking the survey had a prevalence of subjective cognitive decline just slightly above the nonsmoking group.
“These findings could imply that the time since smoking cessation does matter, and may be linked to cognitive outcomes,” Jenna Rajczyk, the study’s lead author and a doctoral student in Ohio State’s College of Public Health, said in a news release.
The scientists said their work builds on previous research finding links between smoking and Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, and adds to the evidence that quitting smoking is good for neurological health as well as respiratory and cardiovascular health.
“The association we saw was most significant in the 45-59 age group, suggesting that quitting [smoking] at that stage of life may have a benefit for cognitive health,” Jeffrey Wing, the study’s senior author and an assistant professor of epidemiology at Ohio State, said in the release.
Wing said a similar difference wasn’t found in the oldest group in the study, which may indicate that quitting earlier affords people greater benefits.
The scientists used data from the national 2019 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System to analyze the relationship between subjective cognitive decline and smoking status, surveying participants 45 years of age or older.
Of the 136,018 respondents, approximately 10% self-reported cognitive decline, mostly among current smokers, followed by recent former smokers and former smokers who had quite years earlier, as compared to never smokers.
Rajczyk said the study involved a simple assessment tool that could be easily used routinely among people of younger ages — before cognitive decline is typically seen.
“It’s not an intensive battery of questions. It’s more a personal reflection of your cognitive status to determine if you’re feeling like you’re not as sharp as you once were,” she said.
Yet, Wing said it’s important to note that these self-reported experiences don’t amount to a diagnosis, and they do not independently confirm that a person is experiencing cognitive decline beyond what occurs in the normal aging process.
