Quitting Smoking Linked to Lower Risk for Dementia

TUESDAY, May 26, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- Quitting smoking is associated with a lower risk for dementia, especially for those with no or modest weight gain after cessation, according to a study published online May 20 in Neurology.Hui Chen, Ph.D., from the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine in Hangzhou, China, and colleagues conducted a prospective cohort study using data from 32,802 dementia-free adults from the U.S. Health and Retirement Study (1995 to 2020) to examine the associations of smoking cessation and postcessation weight gain with long-term risk for dementia and cognitive trajectories.The researchers found that 5,868 dementia cases were documented over 25 years of follow-up. Individuals who quit during follow-up had a statistically significant lower dementia risk after quitting compared with current smokers, which was similar to those who had quit before baseline and to never smokers. The benefits of cessation were mainly seen for those with no or modest two-year postcessation weight gain (≤5 kg), while a nonstatistically significant association was seen for quitting accompanied by >10-kg weight gain. The risk for dementia decreased with longer time since quitting, with the risk approaching that of never smokers and plateauing around seven years after quitting. Long-term slower cognitive decline, but no transient cognitive change, was seen in association with quitting (slope difference, 0.19 points per decade), especially among those with minor weight gain (slope difference, 0.23 per decade)."Our findings suggest that quitting smoking may support long‑term brain health, but they also highlight that what happens after quitting matters," Chen said in a statement.Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required).Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter

Quitting Smoking Linked to Lower Risk for Dementia

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