Smoking linked to mid-life memory loss: Study

The researchers said that they found strong links between smoking and cognitive and memory problems later in life.

8220;First, smoking in middle age is associated with memory deficit and decline in reasoning abilities,8221; they wrote in a report in the June 9 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

8220;Second, long-term ex-smokers are less likely to have cognitive deficits in memory, vocabulary and verbal fluency.8221;

8220;Third, giving up smoking in midlife is accompanied by improvement in other health behaviours.8221;

8220;Fourth, our results 8230; suggest that the association between smoking and cognition, even in late midlife, could be underestimated because of higher risk of death and non-participation in cognitive tests among smokers.8221;

The authors stressed that 8220;the results are important because individuals with cognitive impairment in midlife may progress to dementia at a faster rate.8221;

8220;During the past 20 years, public health messages about smoking have led to changes in smoking behaviour,8221; they wrote.