There is an endless list of the hazards of smoking, with a new one being added every now and then. One of the latest discoveries regarding these hazards has added to the woes of chronic smokers. As per studies, smokers are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s diseases and suffer from memory dysfunction as they age than people who keep away from cigarettes. As per this research, smokers between the ages of 30 ‘ 45 have double the risk pf developing brain disorders in their older days than non-smokers. Some of the other facts that were brought to light during this study are
- People who are chronic smokers (40 cigarettes a day) have 157 % chances of suffering from Alzheimer’s in the older days.
- These people are 172 % more susceptible to vascular dementia which is also a form of Alzheimer’s.
- The researchers evaluated the medical records of around 20,000 people for the past 23 years and came to the above conclusion. This occurred as a result of tissue inflammation as a result of smoking. Researchers believe that these inflammations can lead to Alzheimer’s disease. This highlights the fact that besides affecting the lungs, skin and eyes, smoking also makes the brain susceptible to various disorders.
More on Alzheimer’s disease
Alzheimer’s disease is one of the most common reasons for deterioration of intellectual faculties also known as dementia. This form of brain affection can interfere with the social and occupational functioning. This disease also takes a toll on the health economy of the country. In the United States, the cost of caring for patients with this disease reached $144 billion per year in 2009.
Risk factors
The exact cause of this disease is unknown but there are certain risk factors which need to be taken into consideration.
- Smoking
- Drug abuse
- insulin resistance
- obesity
- vascular factors
- dyslipidemia
- hypertension
- lipoprotein E epsilon 4 genotype
- Genetic- this is a rare cause where only 7 % of Alzheimer’s patients have genetic history.
Symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease
- Inability to think straight: Patients who are suffering from Alzheimer’s disease are not able to solve even small problems. A simple case would be the inability to remember personal phone numbers, or the inability to fill checkbooks.
- Disorientation: These people are not able to connect with realities where they are not able to find their way back from a certain place, forget their residential address, or may forget how they reached a certain place. They are also not conscious of the day, date and time. One of the best examples is people forgetting the way back to their house from the grocery store.
- Dull: These people may suddenly appear dull and lost where they appear detached to everything that is happening around them. They tend to spend more time watching television and sleeping than doing other activities that they used to do.
- Speech: One of the earliest signs of Alzheimer’s disease is that people forget the words that they were going to use while talking. They stop mid sentence trying to find the correct word.