Smoking increases the risk of cognitive decline in men, reported researchers from University College, London. In a study published in Archives of General Psychology, the authors note that that the evidence has been mounting regarding the link between smoking and dementia in elderly individuals. Smoking has been found to push up the total number of patients with dementia around the world.
The researchers looked at the impact smoking might have on men as they moved between middle and old age. They gathered data from the Whitehall II cohort study, which was based on people who worked in the British Civil Service and analyzed data on 2,137 females and 5,099 males whose average age at their first cognitive assessment was 56 years.
Male smokers and male non-smokers showed clear differences in risks for cognitive decline. However, female smokers did not show a clear difference.
