Geez....just when you thought the news about being a smoker at our age couldn't get worse - those commercials with the elephant sitting on the chests of people with COPD come to mind - a large study completed in 2010 has shown that heavy smoking in your 50's & 60's more than doubles your chances of getting dementia.
Great....
An excerpt from the Wall Street Journal article on the study gives you the bottom line:
"Researchers followed 21,000 patients in the Kaiser Permanente health system for more than 20 years and found those who smoked more than two packs of cigarettes a day in middle age had a 157% greater risk of developing Alzheimer's compared with nonsmokers. And they had a 172% greater risk of vascular dementia, the second-most common form and one that is associated with stroke and other conditions affecting blood supply to the brain."
"It's a pretty clear picture that heavy smoking … elevates your risk of dementia," said Rachel Whitmer, a study author and scientist at the research division of Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, Calif. "If you are a heavy smoker and you're lucky enough to make it to old age, you're not in the clear. You're still at risk for dementia."
"The silver lining is that this risk factor is completely modifiable," says William Thies, chief medical and scientific officer of the Alzheimer's Association. "For anyone who is contemplating ending a smoking habit, this study's findings provide yet another excellent reason to do so."
So....if you're a smoker, at our age or even a bit younger, and you're not worried about hacking up a lung, maybe losing your mind....literally....will be the straw/broken camel (no pun intended) -back motivator. When you're ready, here's the link to Tobacco Free.org's quit smoking page for a host of smoking cessation resources.
Use this link to read the full WSJ story.
You have been officially alerted...
Great....
An excerpt from the Wall Street Journal article on the study gives you the bottom line:
"Researchers followed 21,000 patients in the Kaiser Permanente health system for more than 20 years and found those who smoked more than two packs of cigarettes a day in middle age had a 157% greater risk of developing Alzheimer's compared with nonsmokers. And they had a 172% greater risk of vascular dementia, the second-most common form and one that is associated with stroke and other conditions affecting blood supply to the brain."
"It's a pretty clear picture that heavy smoking … elevates your risk of dementia," said Rachel Whitmer, a study author and scientist at the research division of Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, Calif. "If you are a heavy smoker and you're lucky enough to make it to old age, you're not in the clear. You're still at risk for dementia."
"The silver lining is that this risk factor is completely modifiable," says William Thies, chief medical and scientific officer of the Alzheimer's Association. "For anyone who is contemplating ending a smoking habit, this study's findings provide yet another excellent reason to do so."
So....if you're a smoker, at our age or even a bit younger, and you're not worried about hacking up a lung, maybe losing your mind....literally....will be the straw/broken camel (no pun intended) -back motivator. When you're ready, here's the link to Tobacco Free.org's quit smoking page for a host of smoking cessation resources.
Use this link to read the full WSJ story.
You have been officially alerted...
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