Smoking May Lead To Alzheimer's

Philadelphia (CBS) -- It has been documented that smoking increases the risk of most diseases but now a new report makes an interesting connection: people who smoke heavily in middle age could more than double their risk for Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia 20 years later.

The report can be found in the Archives of Internal Medicine and it analyzed data with colleagues from 21,123 members of a healthcare system who participated in a survey between 1978 and 1985, when they were between the ages of 50 and 60.

The reason this study is so important is because we need to try to identify risk factors for Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia and try to find ways to avoid contributing lifestyle factors.

Reported By Dr. Brian McDonough, KYW Newsradio Medical Editor