Smoking and increased Alzheimer's disease risk: a review of potential mechanisms

Timothy C Durazzo; Niklas Mattsson; Michael W Weiner; Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative

doi:10.1016/j.jalz.2014.04.009

Smoking and increased Alzheimer's disease risk: a review of potential mechanisms

Alzheimers Dement. 2014 Jun;10(3 Suppl):S122-45. doi: 10.1016/j.jalz.2014.04.009.

Authors

Timothy C Durazzo¹, Niklas Mattsson², Michael W Weiner³; Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative

Affiliations

¹ Center for Imaging of Neurodegenerative Diseases (CIND), San Francisco VA Medical Center, San Francisco, CA, USA; Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA. Electronic address: timothy.durazzo@ucsf.edu.
² Center for Imaging of Neurodegenerative Diseases (CIND), San Francisco VA Medical Center, San Francisco, CA, USA; Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; Clinical Neurochemistry Laboratory, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, The Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Mölndal, Sweden.
³ Center for Imaging of Neurodegenerative Diseases (CIND), San Francisco VA Medical Center, San Francisco, CA, USA; Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.

Abstract

Background: Cigarette smoking has been linked with both increased and decreased risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD). This is relevant for the US military because the prevalence of smoking in the military is approximately 11% higher than in civilians.

Methods: A systematic review of published studies on the association between smoking and increased risk for AD and preclinical and human literature on the relationships between smoking, nicotine exposure, and AD-related neuropathology was conducted. Original data from comparisons of smoking and never-smoking cognitively normal elders on in vivo amyloid imaging are also presented.

Results: Overall, literature indicates that former/active smoking is related to a significantly increased risk for AD. Cigarette smoke/smoking is associated with AD neuropathology in preclinical models and humans. Smoking-related cerebral oxidative stress is a potential mechanism promoting AD pathology and increased risk for AD.

Conclusions: A reduction in the incidence of smoking will likely reduce the future prevalence of AD.

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease; Amyloid; Cigarette smoking; Military; Oxidative stress; Risk; Tau; Tobacco; U.S. Armed Services.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review
Systematic Review

MeSH terms

Alzheimer Disease / epidemiology
Alzheimer Disease / physiopathology*
Animals
Brain / drug effects
Brain / physiopathology
Humans
Nicotine / adverse effects
Nicotinic Agonists / adverse effects
Oxidative Stress / drug effects
Oxidative Stress / physiology
Risk Factors
Smoking / adverse effects*
Smoking / epidemiology
Smoking / physiopathology

Substances

Nicotinic Agonists
Nicotine

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

Grants and funding