While smoking being bad for one’s respiratory and cardiovascular systems is a well-known fact, researchers from Ohio State University warn that this particular habit also poses a different sort of risk for middle-aged people.
The authors of the study that was published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease argue that smokers among the aforementioned demographic may face a greater chance of reporting memory loss and confusion than those who don’t smoke.
The researchers also suggest that the odds of a cognitive decline seem to decrease for those who did previously smoke but chose to drop this bad habit.
“The association we saw was most significant in the 45-59 age group, suggesting that quitting at that stage of life may have a benefit for cognitive health,” said Jeffrey Wing, assistant professor of epidemiology at the Ohio State University’s College of Public Health and co-author of the study.
Having analyzed the results of the 2019 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey in the United States, the researchers established that the prevalence of a self-reported condition known as subjective cognitive decline (SCD) among smokers was around 1.9 times that of those who do not smoke.
While the prevalence of SCD among people who quit smoking over 10 years ago was slightly greater than among non-smokers, those who stopped smoking less than a decade ago exhibited an SCD prevalence 1.5 times that of non-smokers.
“These findings could imply that the time since smoking cessation does matter, and may be linked to cognitive outcomes,” said Jenna Rajczyk, PhD student at the College of Public Health and lead author of the study.