Patients 40 years old and above who underwent anesthesia prior to surgery showed no evidence of any subsequent associated mild cognitive impairment in their lives, according to a study published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
Researchers followed more than 1,700 Minnesotans aged 70 to 89 with normal mental function at the study's beginning in 2004. Around 85 percent of the study participants had undergone at least one surgical procedure after general anesthesia after age 40. The mental functioning of the participants was evaluated every 15 months during the study.
Here are five things to know:
1. David Warner, MD, anesthesiologist and study senior author, said he and his colleagues did not find an association between exposure to anesthesia for surgery and the development of mild cognitive impairment in the patients.
2. While 31 percent of the participants were diagnosed with mild cognitive memory issues during the research period, the problems were not associated with their exposure to anesthesia.
3. The work follows earlier Mayo Clinic research that found elderly patients were no likelier than any other age group to show signs of developing dementia after surgery.
4. Although there was no link found in this study between anesthesia and mild cognitive impairment as a result of surgery done after age 40, researchers said they couldn't rule out such a link in surgeries after age 60, especially in cases of vascular surgery.
5. For children, there is some evidence of associations between exposure to anesthesia for surgery and issues with memory and learning later on in life, however, Dr. Warner pointed out it is by no means established yet.