A new study has suggested that middle-aged people who smoke are putting themselves at greater risk of developing dementia. According to a report in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, smoking increases the dementia risk by up to 5 times in under-55-year old smokers.
Looking at over 11,000 people the U.S study sought to see how unhealthy lifestyles on middle-age impacted in long term health. Over a period of 12-14 years, 203 people were diagnosed with dementia and their lifestyles in middle age seemed to have a big impact on this.
Smoking was strongly linked to the onset of the condition. The researchers said this was because smoking can damage the brain and the small vessels that supply it with blood. Smokers were 70% more likely to develop dementia.
The study also showed that high blood pressure and diabetes also increased the possibility of impared mental function in later life, also because both conditions impare the flow of blood to the brain.
The researchers concluded that modifying lifestyles early in life and treating risk factors was important to reduce the risk of developing the devastating condition.
Neil Hunt,speaking for the Alzheimers Society, said that despite Alzeimer’s being one of most people’s “biggest fears in later life”, only a few realised that there were steps they could take earlier on to reduce their chances of falling ill.