US EditionQuitting smoking linked to slower memory decline in midlife and older adults
UCL researchers found quitting smoking after 40 slows memory decline by 20% and verbal fluency by 50%, potentially reducing dementia risk over six years.
- Recently, University College London researchers published a study in The Lancet Healthy Longevity analysing 9,436 people aged 40 and over across 12 countries and found quitters had markedly slower cognitive decline in the six years after quitting.
- Smoking damages key blood vessels and therefore harms brain health, and middle‑aged and older smokers are less likely to quit despite facing disproportionate harms.
- Quantitatively, the study found decline in verbal fluency was 50% lower and memory decline 20% slower for quitters, equating to three to four fewer months of memory decline and six months less fluency decline per year of ageing compared with continuing smokers.
- Authors say the findings could support quitting smoking as dementia prevention, but study authors urge researchers calling for further study and advise policymakers and tobacco‑control programmes to act cautiously.
- In practical terms, the study suggests it is never too late to quit smoking for cognitive benefit, as people quitting in their 50s or older still gain improvement and long‑term quitters match never‑smokers, prompting healthcare providers and policymakers to intensify cessation support.
14 Articles
14 Articles
'Never too late': Quitting smoking by age 40 could slash verbal fluency decline by 50%, scientists say
Anyone who gives up smoking after 40 could help protect their memory and thinking skills as they age, new findings have revealed.A major new study from UCL has found that people who quit smoking saw their memory decline slow by 20 per cent and their verbal fluency decline slow by an impressive 50 per cent compared to those who kept lighting up.The research looked at more than 9,400 people aged 40 and over from a dozen countries, tracking how the…
Quitting smoking linked to slower memory decline in midlife and older adults
The study, published in The Lancet Healthy Longevity, looked at data from 9,436 people aged 40 or over (with an average age of 58) in 12 countries, comparing cognitive test results among people who quit smoking with those of a matched control group who kept smoking.
Evening Standard
Quitting smoking in later life may slow down decline in memory, study finds
Research by University College London has suggested it is never too late to quit.
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