Study: No link between anesthesia and mild cognitive impairment

Editor's Note

No significant association was found between cumulative exposure to general anesthesia and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in patients over 40 years of age in this study from the Mayo Clinic.

Of 1,731 patients aged 70 to 89 who were cognitively normal as of October 2004, 85% had at least one surgery requiring general anesthesia after age 40.

During a median follow-up of 4.8 years, 31% developed MCI, but it was not found to be associated with their anesthesia exposure.

The data do not exclude the possibility that anesthetic exposure later in life (ie, after age 60) may be tied to an increase in the rate of MCI, the authors say.