Heavy smoking in midlife associated with dementia in later years

November, 2010

A very large long-running study has found smoking over two packs per day in middle age more than doubled the chances of developing dementia in later life.

Data from 21,123 people, surveyed between 1978 and 1985 when in their 50s and tracked for dementia from 1994 to 2008, has revealed that those who smoked more than two packs per day in middle age had more than twice the risk of developing dementia, both Alzheimer's and vascular dementia, compared to non-smokers.

A quarter of the participants (25.4%) were diagnosed with dementia during the 23 years follow-up, of whom a little over 20% were diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and nearly 8% with vascular dementia.

Former smokers, or those who smoked less than half a pack per day, did not appear to be at increased risk. Associations between smoking and dementia did not vary by race or sex.

Smoking is a well-established risk factor for stroke, and is also known to contribute to oxidative stress and inflammation.

http://www.physorg.com/news/2010-10-heavy-midlife-dementia-years.html

Reference:

[1934] Rusanen, M., Kivipelto M., Quesenberry C. P., Zhou J., & Whitmer R. A.
(2010). Heavy Smoking in Midlife and Long-term Risk of Alzheimer Disease and Vascular Dementia.
Arch Intern Med. archinternmed.2010.393 - archinternmed.2010.393.

nicotine

Alzheimers

Related News

Cognitive activity protects against age-related decline

A study (“Midlife in the United States”) assessing 3,343 men and women aged 32-84 (mean age 56), of whom almost 40% had at least a 4-year college degree, has found evidence that frequent cognitive activity can counteract the detrimental effect of poor education on age-related cognitive decline.

Helping older adults remember whether they’ve done something

Previous research has shown that older adults are more likely to incorrectly repeat an action in situations where a

Older brains make good use of 'useless' information

It’s now well established that older brains tend to find it harder to filter out irrelevant information. But now a new study suggests that that isn’t all bad.

Resistance training improves attention in older women

A study involving 155 women aged 65-75 has found that those who participated in resistance training once or twice weekly for a year significantly improved their selective attention (maintaining mental focus) and conflict resolution (as well as muscular function of course!), compared to those who

Blueberry juice & purple grape juice improve memory in older adults

A number of rodent studies have shown that blueberries can improve aging memory; now for the first time, a human study provides evidence.

Rapamycin rescues memory in Alzheimer's mice

Damaged protein identified as early biomarker for Alzheimer's

A study involving 57 cognitively healthy older adults has found that those who showed decreased memory performance two years later (20 of the 57) had higher baseline levels of phosphorylated tau231 in the

Hypertension may predict dementia in older adults with particular cognitive deficits

Midlife hypertension has been confirmed as a risk factor for the development of dementia in late life, but there have been conflicting findings about the role of late-life hypertension.

Predicting the progression of Alzheimer's

By following 597 Alzheimer’s patients over 15 years, researchers have determined that a simple progression rate can be calculated at the initial visit, using symptom onset and present performance, and that this can reliably identify slow, intermediate and rapid progression.

Review confirms early diagnosis tool

A survey of more than 100 studies involving PIB-PET, a diagnostic tool that involves injecting a radiotracer called

Pages