RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 The effect of smoking on cognition as measured by Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CATNAB) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor plasma levels
JF Saudi Medical Journal
JO Saudi Med J
FD Prince Sultan Military Medical City
SP 1308
OP 1314
DO 10.15537/smj.2020.12.25513
VO 41
IS 12
A1 Arwa Ali S. Al-Mshari
A1 Mona H. AlSheikh
A1 Rabia Latif
A1 Sadaf Mumtaz
YR 2020
UL http://smj.org.sa/content/41/12/1308.abstract
AB Objectives: To establish an association between cigarette smoking, cognition, and plasma brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels in healthy young adults.Methods: This was an ex post facto analytic cross-sectional study conducted between March and November 2018. Participants were 73 healthy males (31 smokers and 42 non-smokers), 17-33 years old. The cognitive function of the participants was assessed through the Cambridge neuropsychological test automated battery (CANTAB). Blood samples were taken to measure the plasma levels of BDNF and the results were compared to identify the association between smoking related variables and cognitive test scores and plasma BDNF levels. A p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results: Smokers performed significantly worse than non-smokers in the multitasking test, including reaction time and rapid visual information processing. However, no significant association was observed between smoking related variables and cognitive test scores. The only significant positive correlation was found between plasma BDNF levels and the number of cigarettes smoked per day (r=0.480, p=0.024). No correlation was observed between other smoking related variables and plasma BDNF levels.Conclusion: Plasma BDNF level is positively related to the number of cigarettes smoked per day. Young smokers have significantly impaired sustained attention and less ability to manage conflicting information as compared to age-matched non-smokers.