England - There yet another reason for you to
quit smoking. If you're a man, it could actually ruin your cognitive
abilities as you age.
Scientists in England have found men
who don't stop smoking may see signs of early dementia even at the
age of 45.
“...This
study shows it [smoking] has a detrimental effect on cognitive aging
and it's as evident as early as 45 years old,” said University
College of London's Severine Sabia in the Archives of General
Psychiatry journal.
She cites a the possibility the link may be because men smoke more
tobacco than women or the link may not have been found in women yet
because there's a significantly lower amount of women than men taking
part in the study. The average age of those taking part was 56 when
they had their first cognitive assessment.
Sabia also discovered men who quit
smoking in the 10 years before the first cognitive testing point are
still at risk of greater cognitive decline, especially in executive
function -- which covers various complex cognitive processes involved
in achieving a particular goal. However long-term ex-smokers did not
show a faster decline in their brain functions or cognitive
abilities.
Sabia said more research is now needed to find out why there was a difference between men and women in this study, and to look into possible mechanisms that might link declining brain function to smoking.
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