Comparison of the reaction time between smoker and non-smoker male aged 40-60 years old living in Chiang Rai Province

Abstract

Introduction: Reaction time (RT) is the time between the stimulate onset and the first movement. It is a part of nervous system and could receiving effect of toxic substances from cigarette. The RT action could indicate level of cognitive function.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare the RT between smoker and non-smoker male living in Chiang Rai Province.

Materials and methods: Subjects, male aged 40-60 years old living in Chiang Rai were divided into each 45 persons for smoking and non-smoking groups. Multi choice reaction timer was used to collect the RT data from dominant and non-dominant both hands and feet.

Results: The RT of dominant hand, non-dominant hand; dominant foot and non-dominant foot from smoker and non-smoker were significantly different between two groups (p<0.05). Additionally, the RT of smoker group tended to be slower than that of non-smoker group. It could be proposed that nicotine might have an effect on normal function of brain.

Conclusions: The result from this study revealed the effects of cigarette on nervous system which can be applied for the campaign to smoking cessation.