Nicotine smoking is associated with impaired cognitive performance in Pakistani young people

Nicotine smoking is the most common mode of tobacco smoking among young people. It affects the areas of the brain associated with memory, attention, and learning. This study has investigated the effect of nicotine smoking on cognitive performance. One hundred male volunteers (50 nicotine smokers and 50 nonsmokers) aged 18–30 years with similar socioeconomic backgrounds were recruited for this study. Clinical history of participants was obtained using a questionnaire. Their brain health and handedness were determined using the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory (EHI), respectively. The dependent variables examined in the study were attention-switching tasks (AST), pattern recognition memory (PRM), and choice reaction time (CRT). These parameters were assessed using the Cambridge Neuropsychological Automated Battery (CANTAB). The average ages of participating smokers and nonsmokers were 24.02 ± 3.41 years (mean ± standard deviation) and 22.68 ± 1.87 years, respectively. MMSE and EHI scores of smokers were 28.42 ± 1.09 and 99.75 ± 1.77, respectively; for nonsmokers, these scores were 28.54 ± 1.34 and 98 ± 1.91, respectively. The mean score for AST correct latency/delay was significantly higher (p = 0.050) in smokers (620.26 ± 142.03) than in nonsmokers (570.11 ± 108.39). The percentage of correct AST trials was significantly higher (p = 0.000) in nonsmokers (96.95 ± 2.18) than in smokers (83.75 ± 11.22). The PRM percent correct were significantly higher (p = 0.000) of nonsmokers (93.42 ± 8.34) than of smokers (79.75 ± 13.44). The mean correct latency for CRT was significantly higher (p = 0.009) in smokers (509.87 ± 129.83) than in nonsmokers (455.20 ± 65.73). From this data, it can be concluded that nicotine smoking is linked with impaired cognitive functions in smokers.

Effect of Cigarette and Shisha smoking on cognitive functions impairment: A cross sectional study

Objectives: Cigarette and Shisha smoking is becoming a common practice in young generation worldwide. Since, this is a growing threat to public health, our study aims to investigate the cognitive function responses of cigarette and Shisha inhalation in adolescents. Methods: This retrospective cross sectional study comprised three groups, cigarette smoker, Shisha smoker, and nonsmoker control group (each n=25). All the participants were apparently healthy male volunteers aged 21-24 years. Cognitive functions were assessed by employing “Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery”. The cognitive functions outcome variables were response time tasks (attention switching task (AST) and the percentage of correct answers pattern recognition memory (PRM) task. Results: Cigarette and Shisha smokers exhibited a considerable decline in cognitive performance parameters, AST mean correct latency (p=0.001), AST mean correct latency (congruent) (p=0.001), AST mean correct latency (incongruent) (p=0.001) and AST mean correct latency (switching) (p=0.001) compared to matched control group. Conclusions: Cigarette and Shisha smokers exhibited significant impairment in their cognitive functions. The present study findings convince that cigarette and Shisha smokers should quit smoking. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.36.5.2251 How to cite this:Bashir S, Murtaza G, Meo SA, Al-Masri A. Effect of Cigarette and Shisha smoking on cognitive functions impairment: A cross sectional study. Pak J Med Sci. 2020;36(5):---------. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.36.5.2251 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.