It is an illness that affects many elderly people: cognitive decline. This last “corresponds to an alteration of one or more cognitive functions, whatever the mechanism involved, its origin or its reversibility” explains the High Authority of Health (HAS). Various symptoms such as difficulty expressing oneself, balance disorders or memory loss can characterize it. Certain factors can favor its appearance such as isolation, physical inactivity or even alcohol consumption.
Researchers at University College London in England measured the impact of risk factors for cognitive decline. They calculated that people who smoked had a faster cognitive decline than others. Their results are published in the journal Nature Communications.
Cognitive decline: Smokers had scores that dropped by up to 85% over 10 years
To arrive at these results, the researchers relied on data from 32,033 cognitively healthy adults at the start of the study, aged 50 and spread across 14 countries. This information came from the English Longitudinal Study on Ageing (ELSA) and the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). These studies collected data on lifestyle and memory decline. The duration was 10 years.
The researchers created a “reference lifestyle”which included no smoking, no to moderate alcohol consumption, physical activity, and regular social life. The authors compared participants’ lifestyle habits with the baseline lifestyle. Cognitive decline was calculated by memory and language tests.
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In their conclusions, the experts note that the “Cognitive decline was more rapid for lifestyles that included smoking, while cognitive decline was generally similar for all non-smoking lifestyles”. Specifically, smokers presented “cognitive scores that declined up to 85% more over 10 years than non-smoking lifestyles.”
Only participants who smoked but maintained a regular physical activityan active social life and drank alcohol in moderation had similar levels of cognitive decline to the other groups.
In a press release, Dr Mikaela Bloomberg (UCL Behavioural Science & Health), summarises: “Our results suggest that among the healthy behaviors we examined, not smoking may be one of the most important for maintaining cognitive function.” But he adds that while some people may not be able to quit smoking, “Adopting other healthy behaviors, such as regular exercise, moderate alcohol consumption, and social activity, can help offset the adverse cognitive effects associated with smoking.”
Sources :
- Healthy lifestyle and cognitive decline in middle-aged and older adults residing in 14 European countries – Nature Communications (27/06/2024).
- Smoking a key lifestyle factor linked to cognitive decline among older adults – University College London (communiqué) (05/07/2024)
