WASHINGTON, Aug. 7 (UPI) -- Smoking and drinking do not directly affect an older person's memory or ability to reason -- although there is no data to show the habits help either, researchers said Monday.

      "If you can survive to old age despite moderate drinking and smoking, then alcohol and tobacco do not cause problems with memory or with other forms of cognition," said John Schinka of the James A. Haley VA medical Center and the department of psychiatry at the University of South Florida, Tampa.

      In a presentation at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association in Washington, Schinka looked at 395 individuals in order to examine the independent and interactive effects of drinking and smoking on cognitive performance in the elderly. The participants were not suffering from cardiovascular disease or other diseases, and gave researchers a detailed medical history and then underwent a battery of tests designed to measure cognitive ability. There were 181 men and 211 women in the study, including 61 without a history of smoking or drinking.

      He and his colleagues examined those who used the substances; those who had never used them and those who had quit smoking and drinking.    "In no analysis were there significant differences among abstainers, low-intensity smokers, ex-smokers and high-intensity smokers," Schinka said. Nor did he find any problem with memory or cognition among the drinkers in the study.

      "In no way should anyone think that this study is an endorsement of smoking or drinking," Schinka said. "We didn't find any enhancement of cognition among smokers and drinkers."

      "The finding that there is no effect is a surprise to me," said Thomas Mayer, a psychologist at Kingsbrook Hospital, Brooklyn, N.Y. "Alcohol causes brain cell loss and I would expect that people -- especially elderly people -- who drink moderate amounts of alcohol would show some decline in cognition."

      Schinka said he is interested in pursuing additional studies, perhaps with older participants. In his study, patients 60 to 84 years of age were examined. He said that a study of those over age 85 might show different results.

      In another study, researchers at Brandeis University, Waltham, Mass., reported that women going through menopause appear to suffer a decline in reasoning ability. Post-doctoral researcher Rosanna Bertrand and colleagues studies the effects of menopausal status on four areas of mental cognition among 56 women.

      "This was a pilot project, so the results have to be viewed with caution," said Bertrand. The only significant decline in the areas was in reasoning ability. However, Bertrand noted that these women also suffered from menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweats, headaches and problems in sleeping.

      "These symptoms alone can cause someone to have problems with their reasoning," she said, suggesting that further studies will have to determine if it is the condition or the symptoms caused by menopause that is creating the reasoning difficulties.

      In other studies presented at the meeting:

      --Researchers at Hartford (Conn.) Hospital said they were able to maintain long-term success in getting women to quit smoking if they also included an exercise program that helped the women prevent weight gain.

      "Most women say they are reluctant to quit smoking because they worry about gaining weight," said Roxanne Rodrigue, a clinical research assistant at the hospital. She enrolled 18 female smokers in the study, and after six months, 10 of the 18 participants had remained tobacco free -- confirmed through laboratory tests.

      "Most weight gain after quitting smoking occurs in the first six months," Rodrigue said, suggesting that once the participant reached the six-month point without smoking or gaining significant weight they could maintain smoking cessation. The average weight gain in those who quit was 3.9 pounds, although the range was from a high of 10 pounds gained to a patient who lost nearly three pounds. The weight maintenance program mainly involved walking exercise on treadmills.

      --Researchers found a nearly a third of Asian American adolescent girls and young women in a small survey were at risk of eating disorders such as bulimia. Psychologist Juliet Hung of the California School of Professional Psychology-Los Angeles Campus of Alliant University said her study "revealed that adolescents of average body mass index or of normal weight indicated a strong desire to have a thinner body type, had increased body dissatisfaction and were more likely to engage in disordered eating behaviors."