WASHINGTON (Dispatches) --  Researchers at the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) say that smoking impairs the ability to learn and memorize and that its effects are more pronounced among females, while males are more impaired by cardiovascular disease.
By analyzing data representing more than 70,000 individuals worldwide -- generated through TGen’s online cognitive test called MindCrowd -- the current study produced results that indicate definitive trends.
According to Matt Huentelman, Ph.D., TGen Professor of Neurogenomics, a MindCrowd founder, and the study’s senior author, the results suggest that smoking and cardiovascular disease impact verbal learning and memory throughout adulthood, starting as early as age 18 and that smoking is associated with decreased learning and memory function in women, while cardiovascular is associated with decreased learning and memory function in men.
Besides Alzheimer’s disease, the most significant cause of cognitive decline is known as "vascular contributions to cognitive impairment and dementia” or VCID, which arises from stroke and other vascular brain injuries that cause significant changes to memory, thinking and behavior: smoking and cardiovascular disease exacerbate VCID.