Research

Male smokers lose brain function faster as they age
New study results show that male smokers are more likely to display cognitive difficulties as early as 45 years of age compared to male nonsmokers. Researchers followed study participants for over 25 years, and tracked their smoking status and cognitive abilities. The average ten-year rate of cognitive decline among male smokers was comparable to the ten-year rates of decline observed among nonsmokers who were ten years older. Smokers who had quit within the past ten years also demonstrated elevated rates of cognitive decline, but long-term ex-smokers did not show any difference in their cognitive abilities versus nonsmokers. It is unclear why there was no similar effect found in women. The researchers believe that further research is necessary to determine what mechanism links smoking with declining brain function. Read more here. Read more here. Click here to see the study abstract in the Archives of General Psychiatry.

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