Quitting smoking in middle age reduces dementia risk
Giving up smoking in middle age can slow down cognitive decline and reduce the risk of developing dementia, researchers have found.
Analysis of data from almost 9,500 people aged over 40 years across 12 countries, including England, found much slower decline in cognitive scores in those who had quit smoking compared with those who had not.
Six years after stopping, the rate of decline of verbal fluency had roughly halved, while for memory it slowed by 20%, they reported in The Lancet Healthy Longevity.
It meant that with each year of ageing, people who had quit experienced three to four months less memory decline and six months less fluency decline than those who continued smoking.
The findings support public health messaging that it is never too late to quit smoking and could provide an additional incentive for those wishing to stop even in their 40s or 50s, the researchers from University College London concluded.
It is also consistent with earlier studies showing that adults aged over 65 who quit smoking during early- or mid-life have comparable cognitive scores to never smokers, and that former and never smokers have a similar risk of dementia a decade or longer after quitting, the team noted.
Study lead Dr Mikaela Bloomberg, from the UCL Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care, said: ‘Our study suggests that quitting smoking may help people to maintain better cognitive health over the long term even when we are in our 50s or older when we quit.
‘We already know that quitting smoking, even later in life, is often followed by improvements in physical health and well-being. It seems that, for our cognitive health too, it is never too late to quit.
She added the finding was especially important because middle-aged and older smokers are less likely to try to quit than younger groups, yet they disproportionately experience the harms of smoking.
‘Evidence that quitting may support cognitive health could offer new compelling motivation for this group to try and quit smoking.
Co-author Professor Andrew Steptoe, professor of psychology and epidemiology at UCL, added: ‘Slower cognitive decline is linked to lower dementia risk. These findings add to evidence suggesting that quitting smoking might be a preventative strategy for the disease.
‘However, further research will be needed that specifically examines dementia to confirm this.’
Dr Richard Oakley, the associate director of research and innovation at Alzheimer’s Society said the findings strengthened existing evidence that changing to a healthier lifestyle can have a measurable impact on brain health.
‘We know that quitting smoking, keeping physically active, eating a healthy balanced diet and drinking less alcohol can all help reduce the risk of dementia.’
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