[url=http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2010/10/26/3048432.htm]Smoking doubles dementia risk: study[/url]
Heavy smoking during middle age can double the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia two decades later says researchers.
Whitmer’s team analysed data from 21123 members of a health plan who took part in a survey when they were in their 50s and 60s.
Compared with non-smokers those who smoked more than two packs a day had a 114% increased risk of dementia a 157% increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease and a 172% greater risk of vascular dementia.
It has been difficult to study the effects of smoking on brain health because heavy smokers often die from other conditions first.
“This is the first time someone has been able to look really over the long term” says Whitmer.
The World Health Organization says 5 million people die every year from tobacco-related heart attacks strokes and cancers. Another 430000 adults die annually from breathing second-hand smoke.
A report last month said the worldwide costs of coping with dementia will reach A$609 billion in 2010 more than one percent of global GDP output and those costs will soar further as the number of sufferers triples by 2050.
Stopping smoking is something we can do locally!