A 12-year follow-up study: The effect of chronic disease on the brain is not general, but only slightly affected by general anesthesia

It is becoming more common for the elderly to undergo surgery, but surgery may also be risky

Research estimates that about one in ten elderly patients (60 years and older) may show some degree of cognitive dysfunction within three months after surgery

Recently, a study shared at the annual meeting of the European Society of Anesthesiology and Critical Care (ESAIC) showed that for patients with high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes or low education, their long-term cognitive decline It may be more serious than patients undergoing general anesthesia

Researchers from the Netherlands analyzed 1823 participants with an average age of 51 years.

After modeling analysis, it was found that compared with patients who had never received general anesthesia, patients who had received more than two general anesthesia operations at the beginning of the study were often older and had other health conditions, such as high blood pressure and coronary artery disease, high cholesterol and so on

After adjusting for age, gender, education level, smoking status, alcoholism and other factors related to the risk of cognitive decline, the researchers found that compared with people who have never undergone surgery, they have had at least one type of general anesthesia Of patients may perform worse on selective attention, executive ability, and selective attention tests

In addition, the researchers also found that although the amount of general anesthetics does not seem to affect cognitive function and performance, for patients with high blood pressure, hypercholesterolemia, type 2 diabetes, a history of smoking, or a low level of education , Long-term cognitive ability is much more affected than general anesthesia

Specifically, for patients with hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and type 2 diabetes, their selective attention, mental speed, and information processing speed have a significant impact; for participants with lower education levels, Long-term cognitive ability will be significantly affected

Reference

[1] General anaesthesia impacts brain functioning less than other patient risk factors, data spanning 12 years suggests.

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