Study links quitting smoking with lower dementia risk over 25 years
The Facts
- Researchers analyzed data from more than 32,000 adults over a 25-year period.
- The study found that former smokers had a lower risk of dementia than people who continued smoking.
- The findings were published in the journal Neurology.
- During the study period, researchers documented 5,868 cases of dementia.
- Participants who quit smoking during the study had a lower risk of developing dementia than current smokers.
- People who quit during the study had dementia risk similar to participants who had quit before the study began and to those who had never smoked.
- The reported results indicate that dementia risk declined the longer a person remained smoke-free.
- The available reports present the study as evidence that quitting smoking may affect brain health as well as the better-known heart and lung risks associated with smoking.
How left and right are reading this
- Both agree
- Quitting smoking appears to be linked not just to better heart and lung outcomes but to lower dementia risk as well, with the reported benefit strongest the longer people remained smoke-free and approaching the risk seen in never-smokers.
- They split on
- Less a disagreement than a question of emphasis: evidence for broader prevention efforts to reduce avoidable harm, versus evidence that individual behavior change can materially improve long-term brain health.
Analytical frames for this storyTap to explore
Context
What did the study examine?
It followed more than 32,000 adults for 25 years and tracked dementia outcomes, with 5,868 cases recorded during the study period Fox News,NY Post.
How did people who quit smoking compare with current smokers?
The reports say people who quit smoking had a lower dementia risk than current smokers, and those who quit during the study had risk similar to people who had already quit and to never-smokers Fox News,NY Post.
What remains unclear from the available coverage?
The articles say the study was published in Neurology and summarize its main findings, but they do not provide fuller methodological details such as how dementia was diagnosed, what confounding factors were adjusted for, or other limitations Fox News,NY Post.
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Wire services (2)
Independent coverage (36)
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