SUMMARY

Findings about the possible relation between smoking and dementia are ambiguous. Earlier research is dominated by the statement that smoking is a protective factor for Alzheimer’s disease while later reports affirm that it could increase the risk for AD, and cessation could lower it to a certain degree. Some studies fail to establish an association between smoking and dementia or AD. The role of alcohol consumption as a risk factor for these disorders is also subject to discussion. Smoking, alcohol consumption and their possible relationships with dementia in persons over the age of 65 were assessed in the framework of a dementia prevalence study in the city of Varna, Bulgaria. No statistically significant correlations were found between the diagnosis of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, MCI, and the above-mentioned risk factors. This corresponds to the ambiguous data in the literature, where no clear statement exists whether smoking and alcohol consumption could be regarded as risk factors for dementing disorders or not