Heavy Smoking in Midlife Linked to Increased Dementia Risk Decades Later

Heavy smoking in midlife is associated with more than a doubling of risk for dementia in older age, according to an Archives of Internal Medicine study.

An ethnically diverse group of some 21,000 adults aged 50 to 60 were interviewed about their smoking habits between 1978 and 1985. Researchers then assessed the participants' medical records from 1994 to 2008 and found that a quarter had developed dementia, Alzheimer disease, or vascular dementia.

In fully adjusted analyses, the risk for dementia rose as the amount of smoking increased. In particular, participants who smoked more than two packs a day in midlife had more than twice the risk for dementia, AD, or vascular dementia two decades later, compared with those who'd never smoked.

Commenting on the potential reason behind the association, the authors write: "It is well recognized that smoking augments oxidative stress and inflammation, which are also believed to be important pathophysiologic mechanisms in AD."

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