New research suggests that smoking cessation improves long-term brain health, provided individuals maintain a stable weight following the transition.
RT’s Three Key Takeaways:
- Reduced Dementia Risk: Individuals who quit smoking showed a 16% lower risk of developing dementia compared to those who continued the habit, after adjusting for age, physical activity, and cardiovascular health.
- Weight Management Impact: The cognitive benefits of cessation were preserved in participants who gained 11 pounds or less, while those who gained 22 pounds or more saw no significant reduction in dementia risk.
- Long-Term Recovery: The study found that the risk of dementia for former smokers approached the levels of those who never smoked after approximately seven years of cessation.
Quitting smoking may be associated with a lowered risk of dementia, especially for people who avoid major weight gain after quitting, according to a study published in Neurology.
The study looked at 32,802 middle-aged and older people without dementia at the start of the research. Participants had an average age of 61 and were followed for an average of 10 years. Researchers found that after adjusting for factors such as age, physical activity, and cardiovascular health, people who quit smoking had a 16% lower risk of dementia compared with those who continued smoking.
“People often worry about what happens after they quit smoking — including weight gain and associated metabolic changes,” said Hui Chen, PhD, of Zhejiang University School of Medicine in Hangzhou, China. “What we found is that quitting is still associated with better brain outcomes but maintaining your weight may help preserve those benefits.”
The research team found that weight changes following cessation significantly influenced these healthcare outcomes. Participants who gained no to moderate weight, or up to 11 pounds, after quitting continued to show a lower dementia risk and slower cognitive decline. In contrast, those who gained 22 pounds or more did not receive a cognitive benefit.
The data also indicated that the benefits of quitting increased over time. Dementia risk for former smokers approached that of never smokers after about seven years of cessation.
During the study period, 5,868 people developed dementia. Researchers identified these cases by using memory and thinking tests and by interviewing individuals who knew the participants about their memory and behavior. At the start of the study, 20% of participants were current smokers, 36% were past smokers, and 43% had never smoked.
“Our findings suggest that quitting smoking may support long‑term brain health, but they also highlight that what happens after quitting matters,” said Chen. “Future research is needed to better understand how weight management and other lifestyle factors can help people maximize the cognitive benefits of quitting smoking as they age.”
The study authors noted that the findings show an association and do not prove that quitting smoking directly lowers the risk of dementia. A limitation of the study was that participants self-reported their smoking habits and weight, which may affect the accuracy of the data.
