ORLANDO, Fla. -- In a cohort of South American young adults, those who smoked or vaped recorded lower scores on a cognitive assessment vs. those who did not, with a stronger correlation found between vapers and lower cognitive scores, data show.

The findings were presented at the American Neurological Association annual meeting.

"To date, there is no work in which cognitive functioning has been measured in people (where) the [Montreal Cognitive Assessment] has been used," Linker Viñan Paucar, lead study author and medical student at Catholic University of Santiago de Guayaquil in Ecuador, told Healio in an email. "This raises the question of the neurocognitive importance of brain development in adolescence and young adulthood."

Viñan Paucar and colleagues sought to clarify the relationship between inhalant utilization patterns, user type and cognitive function among Hispanic college students in South America. They conducted a cross-sectional observational study of 405 individuals (mean age, 20.44±2.06 years; 54% women) who attended one of two universities in Ecuador.

Participants were categorized as exclusive tobacco users (n = 31), exclusive e-cigarette users (n = 64), dual users (n = 111) or nonsmokers/non-vapers (n = 199). The researchers analyzed the participants' Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scores, where scores of 26 and higher indicate normal cognition.

Viñan Paucar and colleagues identified correlations between vaping frequency, study participant categories and cognitive scores.

Students who neither smoked nor vaped recorded the highest median MoCA score of 26 (low score, 18); those who only smoked scored a median of 25 (low score, 22); those who only vaped registered a median score of 24 (low score, 16); and participants who both smoked and vaped had a median score of 24 (low score, 8).

Data further showed that students who either smoked or vaped 10 to 20 puffs per day recorded scores that were 9.2% lower than those who did neither, while those who vaped more than 20 puffs per day recorded scores 13.7% lower than those who neither smoked nor vaped.

"The higher the consumption of electronic cigarettes, the lower the score in the MoCA test, which raises questions as to whether we are facing a global problem due to the excessive consumption of electronic cigarettes and their detrimental effects on the developing brain," Viñan Paucar said.

Vaping bad for brain health, first-of-its-kind study shows. https://www.newswise.com/articles/vaping-bad-for-brain-health-first-of-its-kind-study-shows. Published Sept. 15, 2024. Accessed Sept. 15, 2024.