While it’s already known that smoking cessation lowers an ex-smokers risk of dementia this study uses data to examine the association between changes in smoking intensity (cessation and reduction) and dementia risk. That said, although the benefits of quitting smoking are endless in terms of health and well-being, this study focuses on the direct effects of smoking combustible cigarettes and the onset of various types of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and vascular dementia (VD). Here’s what we know.
The study
Entitled, “Association of Changes in Smoking Intensity With Risk of Dementia in Korea”, the study was published in Jama Network Open, an American Medical Association monthly journal. Upon investigating smoking and its association with the development of dementia, researchers at the Seoul National University College of Medicine found that the exposure change in smoking intensity over time either lowered or heightened the patient’s risk of developing a type of dementia.
What were the results?
Enrolling 126,252 patients, the study examined subjects with a median age of 62.2 years; 61.9% being men and 38.1% being women. The smoking status of the population was 65,579 never-smokers (51.9%), 34,670 ex-smokers (27.5%), 8,919 quit smokers (7.1%), and 17,084 current smokers (13.5%).
Dementia occurred in 5,925 patients during a follow-up period of 3.1 years. There were 4,395 patients with AD and 951 with VD.
Current smokers and quit smokers were shown to have the highest risk of dementia when compared with never-smokers. Interestingly enough, ex-smokers did not have a statistically significantly higher risk than never-smokers, which shows that from the moment you quit smoking, you lower your risk of dementia.
Is a lower risk of developing dementia one of the biggest benefits of quitting smoking?
Although lowering your risk of dementia is a really good reason to quit smoking today—either through the use of e-cigs, nicotine gum, or for those who can handle the withdrawal effects, cold turkey—there are so many health-related benefits of quitting smoking. Lower your risk of heart disease, heart attacks, developing cancer and so much more when you choose to quit today!
Does dementia run in your family? Maybe it’s related to smoking and not genetics? Let’s have a conversation in the comments section below.
