A new study, published in Biological Psychiatry: Global Open Science, has brought to light a concerning effect of smoking: it causes the brain to shrink, effectively accelerating brain aging.
This research helps explain why smokers face a higher risk of cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease as they age.
Laura J. Bierut, a professor of psychiatry at Washington University in St. Louis and the senior author of the study, points out that while the harmful effects of smoking on the lungs and heart have been well-documented, its impact on the brain has only recently gained attention.
The study reveals that smoking is detrimental to brain health as well.
This research becomes particularly significant given that people’s brains naturally lose volume with age.
The study involved analyzing data from the UK Biobank, which includes genetic, health, and behavioral information on half a million people, mostly of European descent.
Bierut, along with first author Yoonhoo Chang, a graduate student, focused on over 40,000 participants who underwent brain imaging, providing data on brain volume, smoking history, and genetic risk for smoking for 32,094 individuals.
The team found clear links between smoking history and reduced brain volume, genetic predisposition to smoking, and actual smoking behavior. Interestingly, the more someone smoked, the smaller their brain volume tended to be.
When considering genetics, smoking behavior, and brain volume together, the study revealed a specific sequence: genetic predisposition leads to smoking, which then leads to decreased brain volume.
This sequence underlines the hereditary aspects of smoking habits and their direct impact on brain health.
Bierut emphasizes the seriousness of this finding, noting that brain volume reduction is synonymous with increased aging, a major concern as the global population ages and the risk for dementia rises. The study also found that this brain shrinkage is irreversible.
Even those who quit smoking years ago had smaller brain sizes compared to non-smokers. However, quitting smoking prevents further loss of brain tissue.
Chang highlights a key takeaway: while the damage done by smoking to the brain cannot be undone, further harm can be prevented.
Quitting smoking is a changeable risk factor, vital for stopping further aging of the brain and reducing the risk of dementia.
This study, supported by the National Institutes of Health, underscores the importance of smoking cessation for brain health, particularly in the context of an aging population and the rising prevalence of dementia-related illnesses.
If you care about brain health , please read studies about Vitamin B9 deficiency linked to higher dementia risk, and cranberries could help boost memory.
For more information about brain health, please see recent studies about heartburn drugs that could increase risk of dementia, and results showing this MIND diet may protect your cognitive function, and prevent dementia.
The research findings can be found in Biological Psychiatry: Global Open Science.
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