The effects of tobacco smoking on cognitive function and hematological parameters: a comparative cross-sectional study

Background: There is evidence that tobacco smoking negatively impacts mental and physical health. This study aimed to determine how tobacco smoking affects hemoglobin and cognitive functions of male smokers in Sudan. Methods: This comparative - study involved 120 smokers and nonsmokers adult male participants. The smoker population was further subdivided into cigarette (CS) and water pipe (WP) smoker subgroups, as well as both the cigarette and water pipe (CSWP) smoker subgroup. The original Cognitive Failure Questionnaire (CFQ) was the tool used to gather the cognitive data. Standard techniques were employed to evaluate the hematological parameters. Many statistical tests were performed to examine the associations between the variables, with a p value <0.05 indicating statistical significance. Results: Age ranged from 18-60 years, with a mean of 27.3 (+/- 7.4 SD) years. For the smoker group, the mean duration of tobacco smoking was 9.1 (+/- 5.5) years. The smokers had a total CFQ score of 40.4 (+/- 21.2), whereas the nonsmokers had a score of 30.8 (+/- 9.9). The CFQ scores of the smoker subgroup and the nonsmoker subgroup were significantly different (p value = 0.002). The hemoglobin level of the smokers was 16.16 (+/- 1.6 g/dl), and that of the nonsmokers was 14.1 (+/- 1.6 g/dl), with a significant statistical difference (p value = 0.001). The red blood cell count of the smokers was 5.4 x 10(12) (+/- 0.42 x 10(12)), whereas that of the nonsmokers was 5.14 x 10(12) (+/- 0.54 x 10(12)), with a significant statistical difference (p value = 0.015). The presence of polycythemia (high hemoglobin, red blood cell, and hematocrit levels) among the smokers did not significantly correlate with their total CFQ score (r = 0.024, p = 0.857; r = -0.082, p = 0.535; r = 0.001, p = 0.999, respectively). Conclusion: Despite smokers exhibiting cognitive impairments and higher levels of polycythemia in comparison with nonsmokers, polycythemia cannot be considered a possible risk factor for cognitive impairment.