Passive smoking increases the risk of developing dementia syndrome
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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The study, conducted by an international team of specialists from China, the United Kingdom and the United States, established a link between passive smoking and dementia syndrome.
The syndrome of dementia is characterized by a certain violation of behavioral reactions and changes in the personality of the patient, as well as a disorder in the processes of thinking.
The study, conducted with the participation of nearly 6,000 people in five provinces of China, shows that people who are exposed to secondhand smoke have an increased risk of developing severe dementia.
It is known that inhalation of tobacco smoke inevitably causes serious cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, including ischemic heart disease and lung cancer. However, until now, there was no certainty that passive smoking increases the risk of developing dementia, mainly due to a lack of research that could trace this relationship. Previous studies conducted earlier by scientists have shown a link between passive smoking and cognitive impairment, but the current research is the first in which experts discovered the relationship between the exposure of the human body to tobacco smoke and the development of dementia syndrome.
The research of scientists, the results of which are published on the pages of the scientific journal "Questions of Mental Medicine and Ecology", is the result of cooperation between scientists of King's College in London and Anhui University of Traditional Chinese Medicine in China, as well as their colleagues from the United States.
According to the World Health Organization, nearly eighty percent of the world's more than one billion smokers live in low- and middle-income countries, where tobacco is one of the most common causes of illness and death. Only eleven percent of the world's population is protected by comprehensive anti-smoking laws.
China is the world's first consumer of tobacco products. Of course, this is due to the size of the population of China, but the figures can not fail to impress - there are 350 million smokers in this country. Since 2006, the Chinese government is actively introducing a program to limit smoking in hospitals, schools, public transport and other public places, but the implementation of the program, however, does not have a significant impact on the reduction of the army of smokers.
The latest data show that the prevalence of passive smoking remains high, in addition, China has the largest number of people in the world who suffer from dementia.
The researchers conducted a survey and a survey among 5,921 people over the age of 60 and found that ten percent of respondents had a dementia syndrome. The development of the syndrome was largely influenced by the long-term effects of second-hand smoke. Symptoms of the disease were found in people who have never smoked, as well as with former and current smokers.
"At present, we know that about 90 percent of the world's population lives in countries where smoking in public places is not prohibited. More campaigns against smoking and anti-smoking programs in general will reduce the risk of severe dementia syndromes and can have a beneficial effect on reducing the level of dementia diseases around the world, "the researchers summarize.
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