Smoking speeds up memory loss in old age

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Smoking speeds up memory loss in old age

Last Updated: 2004-03-22 16:00:38 -0400 (Reuters Health)

By Alison McCook

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Elderly people who smoke show a five-fold

faster rate of age-related mental decline than people who never smoked,

according to new study findings released Monday.

Among former smokers, mental decline occurred around twice as fast as in

those who said they never smoked.

And the more people smoked during their lifetimes, the quicker they

appear to lose their mental faculties with age, the authors note.

These findings represent another reason why smokers should quit, and one

that " may appeal to the people who didn't stop for other reasons, " study

author Dr. Lenore Launer of the National Institute on Aging in land

told Reuters Health.

This is not the first study to link smoking with mental decline.

Previous research has shown that middle-aged smokers tend to show a

faster rate of decline in old age, and may experience more cognitive

changes than non-smokers even before they reach age 60.

During the study, Launer and her colleagues tested mental function in

9,209 people over the age of 65; they then retested them an average of 2

years later. All participants were free of dementia during the study

period.

The researchers measured participants' cognitive function using the

Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), a short assessment tool used

worldwide.

The authors found that never-smokers showed a decline in MMSE score of

03 points per year. Among current smokers, MMSE score dropped .16

points each year, while former smokers' scores fell by .06 points

annually.

And the more packs of cigarettes people smoked, the faster they tended

to lose their mental functioning as they aged, the authors report in the

journal Neurology.

In an interview, Launer explained that the small change in MMSE score

means that each individual smoker will likely not notice a difference in

their mental functioning from year to year. But over time, she added,

smokers will likely be quicker than non-smokers to notice that their

brains are not working the way they used to.

Moreover, the fact that smokers as a whole experience a faster rate of

cognitive decline with age shows that smoking's influence on the brain

has a significant impact on public health, Launer added.

Launer explained that smoking likely affects mental functioning by

causing problems in the blood vessels feeding the brain, leading to a

loss of nutrients and the destruction of brain tissue.

She added that these findings suggest that repeated exposure to

secondhand cigarette smoke may also cause changes to young, developing

brains, and may also affect cognitive function in elderly non-smokers.

Neurology, March 23, 2004.

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