Why smoking may raise dementia risk: Lung exosomes could disrupt brain iron balance

The correlation between smoking and neurodegeneration is well-documented, with one study from 2011 finding that heavy smoking in midlife was associated with a greater than 100% increase in risk of dementia, Alzheimer's and vascular dementia more than two decades later. Dementia is a less-studied impact of smoking for a simple, terrible reason: It occurs later in life and smokers tend to die younger.

source https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-dementia-lung-exosomes-disrupt-brain.html