New Study: Smoking Kills the Brain, Not Just The Lungs

Rebecca Lewis November 27, 2012

We all know that smoking creates substantial damage to the lungs. But did you know it also rots the brain? A study of more than 8,000 researchers at King’s College London found that older people who smoke are more likely to experience mental decline and develop memory problems.

The researchers, who investigated the relationship between the risk of stroke or heart attack and mental health also found that being overweight and having high blood pressure also seemed to damage the brain, but in a lesser extent.

Smokers demonstrated mental decline

The study involved over 8,000 adults ages 50 and above. Data about the health and lifestyle of the participants were collected. The researchers also took brain tests which involved learning new words or names of animals as they could in a minute.

The participants had the same test after four years, and then after eight years.

Scientists found that those who had the highest risk of heart attack and stroke had the greatest mental decline. They also saw a consistent association between smoking and the lower scores in the test. In particular, smoking rots the brain by damaging the areas involved in learning, reasoning and memory. However, the researchers aren’t sure if the early drop in brain function could lead to serious mental conditions such as dementia.

According to Dr Alex Dregan, one of the researchers, cognitive decline becomes common with ageing. And for an increasing number of people, such decline interferes with their daily functioning and affects their well-being.

He said they have identified the risk factors that accelerate mental decline and they are all modifiable. The researchers wanted to make people become aware of the need to create lifestyle changes that will lower their risk.

What damages the heart, damages the brain

Dr Simon Ridley from the Alzheimer’s Research UK said that research has repeatedly linked smoking and high risk of stroke or heart attack to mental decline, and the current study adds weight on that evidence. Unravelling the factors that are associated with mental decline is crucial to prevent the condition, he added.

According to Alzheimer’s Society, one in three people over 65 will develop dementia. However, something can be done to reduce the risk. The charity also said that smoking, high cholesterol, and elevated blood pressure levels are known to damage the heart, but the research adds evidence that these things can damage the brain too. They encouraged adopting lifestyle changes – quitting smoking, eating a balanced diet, exercising, etc. Health experts greatly believe that these things are all going to make a difference.

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Source of this article:

Smoking ’rots’ brain, says King’s College study