Dementia is a debilitating and heartbreaking condition, both for those who have it and for those who love and care for dementia patients. While there are genetic factors for cognitive illnesses and conditions like Alzheimer's disease, there are ways to at least hedge your bets to prevent it or stave it off. As scary as that is, some people are actually increasing their risk of dementia, as well as a host of other medical problems, with a daily (and destructive) habit.
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Three in 10 American adults vape, and that's bad news bears for their brain health.
According to new research from Manchester Metropolitan University, vaping may be directly linked to dementia, heart disease and organ failure.
Researchers examined participants between the ages of 18 and 45 with similar fitness levels to see how vaping impacted their health.
Participants who vaped appeared to have damage to their arterial walls in the heart, The Mirror reported, leaving their arteries unable to dilate and possibly being a sign of cardiovascular problems later. Blood vessels were also found to have been irritated in vaping participants, which the study's lead author, Dr. Maxime Boidin, Ph.D., attributed to vape ingredients nicotine, propylene glycol and vegetable glycerin.
"When you put this mixture of metals and chemicals into your body you can't expect nothing to happen," he said.
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More research needs to be done, but several other previous studies have linked vaping to poor brain health.
A February 2020 study showed that mice exposed to both cigarette smoke and electronic cigarette smoke had "reduced cognitive spatial learning abilities and memory functions," possibly because of inflammation and oxidative stress on the brain. Another study released in 2021 showed that vaping impaired short-term memory and triggered inflammation, while yet a third study, conducted in 2024, observed a link between vaping and cognitive deficits in young adults.
"What we have found is the dangers for someone who keeps vaping are no different from smokers. At the beginning [of the study] I also believed that vaping was more beneficial than smoking," Dr. Boidin admitted to The Mirror. "You see a lot more people vaping these days because they don't think it's too bad. Many will be horrified to know the truth."
Part of what makes vaping particularly dangerous and addictive, Dr. Boidin says, is the convenience of it.
"Smokers tend to go outside and smoke, and once a cigarette is finished they have to light up another to keep going. But with vapes, you just keep going, and it's much harder to know how many puffs you've had," he explained. "It's much easier to vape continuously because you can do it in places where smoking might be less acceptable."
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