Correlation between smoking and memory found

A University of Bahrain (UoB)\'s scientific research study found a correlation between smoking and active working memory in the elderly which means that the greater the quantity of smoking is, the lesser will be the active working memory in elderly persons. The thesis was compiled by psychiatry/psychology student Dania Al-Kabli under the supervision of Professor Ahmed Jalal as part of the requirements of a master\'s degree. The study was conducted to determine whether there is a connection between dependence on psychiatric medicines and active memory in the elderly in the Kingdom of Bahrain and whether such relationship varies according to gender, social status, educational level, chronic ailments and age group. According to the researcher, the percentage of the Kingdom of Bahrain\'s elderly population is 6%. The study samples comprise elderly people from 60 year olds and beyond. The total number of elderly subjects of the study was 60 in number of whom 36% were male and 40% were female that is 2% of the original community being studied. The research student adopted the descriptive methodology (both the associative and the comparative) in order to find out a clue for correlation between dependence on psychiatric medicines for the elderly and their working memory and the discrepancy of this relationship according to variables of gender and age group. The discussion/examination panel included the following professors: 1- UoB\'s psychology/psychiatry professor Ahmed Jalal (Ph.D) as supervisor, 2- UoB\'s Vocational psychology/psychiatry professor Mohammed Miqdad (Ph.D) as internal examiner; and, 3- Mohammed V Al-Souwaisi University\'s Higher Education professor Al-Arabi bin Faqih (Ph.D) as external examiner According to Dania Kabli her study deals with an important subject and seeks to understand the effective nature of psychiatric medicines on senior citizens – which she also considered a rare study both in the GCC and the Arab countries.