The association between adult-life smoking and age-related cognitive decline in Danish men

Erik Lykke Mortensen, Kristine Hell, Gunhild Tidemann Okholm, Trine Flensborg-Madsen and Marie Grønkjær

PLOS ONE, 2025, vol. 20, issue 3, 1-16

Abstract: Background: Most previous studies of effects of smoking on age-related cognitive decline have compared cognitive decline in current smokers, former smokers, and never smokers rather than investigating the effects of pack-years. The aim of the present study was to analyze the association between smoking and age-related cognitive decline in a sample of men administered the same intelligence test in young adulthood and late midlife, using pack-years between the two assessments as the primary measure of exposure to smoking. Methods: In 5052 men, scores on a military intelligence test (BPP, Børge Priens Prøve) were available from young adulthood and a late midlife follow-up assessment including the same intelligence test and a comprehensive questionnaire on socio-demographic factors, lifestyle, and health. Information on smoking was self-reported at follow up for eight age periods, and pack-years were calculated from age 19 based on information on daily smoking and the duration of each age period. The differences in cognitive decline between adult-life smokers and non-smokers and the differences between light, moderate, and heavy smokers defined by pack-years were analyzed in linear regression models. Results: All smoking variables were only weakly associated with cognitive decline. Comparison of adult-life smokers and non-smokers showed less cognitive decline among smokers (1.12 IQ points, p

Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:plo:pone00:0319839

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0319839

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