Relación entre consumo de cigarrillos electrónicos y la función cognitiva en estudiantes de la Universidad Católica de Santiago de Guayaquil (2024).

Abstract

The growing use of nicotine products, especially electronic cigarettes, has raised concerns about their potential effects on young people’s cognitive function. These products are often viewed as less harmful than traditional cigarettes, particularly by adolescents and university students. However, questions remain about how these habits may influence attention, memory, and decision-making during a critical stage of mental development. Our study explored the connection between the use of e-cigarette and the cognitive impairments in university students. Our investigation had sample of four hundred and five students from the Universidad Católica de Santiago de Guayaquil. The age of the participants was 21 years on average. We used the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCa) because it is a very useful tool for assessing the cognition (memory, recall, metal flexibility). The results show that 37.6% of the participants manifested cognitive impairment, and 0.6% indicated a moderate cognitive impairment. Unlike the 61.9% who didn´t consume any nicotine product was shown that they didn’t have cognitive symptoms. In addition, people who used both products with nicotine (e-cigarettes, traditional cigarettes) showed lower scores in the MoCa test. These findings propose a relation between the use of nicotine and the cognitive performance, especially in dual users which present more cognitive deterioration. It is important to promote healthier lifestyle choices in young people, and academic environments. It´s necessary more research to expand the information about the short and long-term effects in the cognitive