The negative impact of chronic tobacco smoking on adult neuropsychological function: a case control study

Abstract Background: The evidence on the effects of chronic tobacco smoking on neuropsychological functions is conflicting. The literature remains limited by inconsistent accounting for potentially confounding biomedical and psychiatric conditions. This study aimed to assess the neuropsychological functions of adult chronic tobacco smokers in comparison to healthy matched-subjects’ controls. Method: The study included 73 smokers and 84 matched-subject non-smoker controls. The data was collected during the year 2019. After an initial interview to collect demographics and smoking profile, the subjects undertook neuropsychological assessments that targeted a wide range of cognitive domains. Results: The performance of smokers was poorer on almost all neuropsychological domains, namely selective attention (p ≤ .001, p =.044), alternating attention (p = .002) working memory (p ≤ .001), Short-term memory (p = .006 and .003), Long-term memory (p ≤ .001), processing accuracy (p ≤ .001), and executive function (p = .011 and .026). Smokers were intact on processing speed. smoking accumulation and the age onset of regular smoking we negatively correlated with neuropsychological function. Conclusion: Our findings add to the growing body of evidence suggesting that chronic tobacco smoking impacts negatively on cognition.