Men who smoke have higher rates of decreased cognitive processes. In 2010, the number of dementia diagnoses worldwide stood at 36 million and is projected to double in 20 years. Severine Sabia of the University of London and her colleagues assessed the association between smoking and cognitive decline during the transition from middle age to old age. The study included 5,099 men and 2,137 women, with an average age of 56 years at baseline. Men who smoked showed faster cognitive decline, and those who continued to smoke during follow-up and testing performed even worse on all tests. It was also noted that those who quit smoking in the 10 years before the study also had a high risk. There is now no reason to underestimate the connection between smoking and cognitive decline, especially in old age. What is surprising is the lack of such a connection in women. perhaps this is due to the fact that women smoke less, or maybe due to something else. Mikhail Ozhirinsky - psychoanalyst, group analyst.