Long-Term Smoking Hurts Cognitive Abilities

by Kathy Jones on  February 10, 2011 at 6:34 PM Lifestyle News
  •   Print
  •   Share
  •   Comments
  •  Text 
Long term smoking can have a detrimental effect on a person’s cognitive abilities, especially among elderly smokers who lose their mental efficiency at a faster rate compared to non smokers, an Australian study reveals.

The study was lead by Osvaldo Almeida from The University of Western Australia who found that elderly smokers lose the grey matter in some of regions of the brain at a faster rate compared to their non smoking counterparts.

The researchers analyzed the brain efficiency of nearly 230 elderly smokers and compared them with 86 non smokers. They found that smokers over 68 years of age lost a large number of grey cells in the regions of the brain associated with active thinking and memory.

The analysis was conducted over a six month intervals for the next two years and the researchers found that those who quit smoking managed to stop the deterioration of the brain cells while those who failed to quit continued their mental decline.

“One finding that is really important from a health point of view is that chronic smokers who quit during the study lost less brain cells and retained better intellectual function than those who continued to smoke”, Almeida wrote in the report which was published in the journal NeuroImage



Source-Medindia

 Email Email   RSS Feeds RSS Feeds   Print this page Print   Save this page Save   Link Link   Syndicate Syndicate   Comments Comments   Bookmark and Share
 
Comment & Contribute
Comments should be on the topic and should not be abusive. Comments are normally moderated and are reviewed after they are posted.
* Your comment can be maximum of 2500 characters

Notify me when reply is posted
I agree to the terms and conditions
  
If you have a question about health related issues, you can now post it in our Ask An Expert section on our community website Medwonders.com and get answers from our panel of experts.
X

Medwonders Health Network

  • Health News Index
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
News Archive
Date :
Category :
Keyword :
Quiz on Smoking
What are the smoking facts? Read about the effects of smoking by participating in the quiz.
  • News Quick Links
News Central Health Watch
Latest Health News Health In Focus
News Category (500+) Breaking Health News
Popular News Celebrating Life
Health News and Press Release Medindia - Exclusive
News Photo Gallery India Special
News Video Gallery Lifestyle and Wellness
News From Other Resources
Smoking
Complete Medindia Resources
News Categories:  
Kidney Health Center

Lifestyle Related News

» Individuals' Brains 'Tick Together' If They Have Strong Emotions » Keeping Emotions in Check and Being Resilient Helps to Remain Satisfied With Life
» Moral Sense Depends on Type of Activity Being Done at Particular Time » 'No Scanty Garbs' Campaign UAE Women
» Asian Casinos Combat Crooks » Dapper Eyewear Records All Within Sight
» Rock Music at Concerts may Lead to Hearing Problems » Construction Of 'Intelligent' Robot That Designs Tools on Its Own
Read More >>