Mayo Clinic Study Finds Anesthesia Poses No Threat For Long-Term Dementia In Elderly
4,018 views · Published 28 January 2014 · 1:51 · Indexed 26 September 2026
Channel: Mayo Clinic · 2014 · Science & Technology
Elderly patients who receive anesthesia are no more likely to develop long-term dementia or Alzheimer's disease than other seniors, according to new Mayo Clinic research. According to Dr. David Warner, a Mayo Clinic anesthesiologist, those findings are reassuring because researchers know that some elderly patients have problems with cognitive function for weeks, sometimes months, following surgical procedures. And there has been concern that exposure to anesthesia may be associated with long-term cognitive changes including dementia. The study analyzed thousands of patients using the Rochester Epidemiology Project — which allows researchers access to medical records of nearly all residents of Olmsted County, Minn. — and found that receiving general anesthesia for procedures after age 45 is not a risk factor for developing dementia. The findings were published Wednesday, May 1, online in Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
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