Summary
A large study has been performed to investigate the association between anaesthesia, surgery and onset of dementia, and to discover whether the risk of dementia increases after surgery with anaesthesia.
Patients aged 50 years and older, who had been anaesthetised between January 2004 and December 2007, were compared with a control group until December 2010 to identify dementia. Patients who received anaesthesia and surgery had an increased risk of developing dementia and a reduced interval before dementia diagnosis. The risk of dementia was increased in patients who had intravenous or intramuscular anaesthesia, regional anaesthesia and general anaesthesia. This nationwide, population-based study indicates that patients receiving anaesthesia and surgery have an increased risk of developing dementia.
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Reference
Chen, PL. Yang, CW. [and] Tseng, YK. [et al] (2013). Risk of dementia after anaesthesia and surgery. The British Journal of Psychiatry, July 25th 2013, [Epub ahead of print]. (Click here to view the PubMed abstract).
Full Text Link (b) (Note: This article requires a suitable Athens password, a journal subscription or payment for access).
Reference
Chen, CW. Lin, CC. [and] Chen, KB. (2013). Increased risk of dementia in people with previous exposure to general anesthesia: A nationwide population-based case-control study. Alzheimer’s and Dementia: the Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association, July 25th 2013, [Epub ahead of print]. (Click here to view the PubMed abstract).
[A brief reference to this item features in Dementia and Elderly Care: the Latest Evidence Newsletter (RWNHST), Volume 3 Issue 9, August 2013].
