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Impact of Anesthesia on the Cognitive Functioning of the Elderly

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 January 2005

Karen Ritchie ,
Catherine Polge ,
Guilhem de Roquefeuil ,
Michel Djakovic  and
Bernard Ledesert
Karen Ritchie
Affiliation:
INSERM CJF 9702, Epidemiology of Neurodegenerative Disorders of the CNS, CRLC Val d'Aurelle—Bâtiment de Recherches, Montpellier, France.
Catherine Polge
Affiliation:
INSERM CJF 9702, Epidemiology of Neurodegenerative Disorders of the CNS, CRLC Val d'Aurelle—Bâtiment de Recherches, Montpellier, France.
Guilhem de Roquefeuil
Affiliation:
INSERM CJF 9702, Epidemiology of Neurodegenerative Disorders of the CNS, CRLC Val d'Aurelle—Bâtiment de Recherches, Montpellier, France.
Michel Djakovic
Affiliation:
INSERM CJF 9702, Epidemiology of Neurodegenerative Disorders of the CNS, CRLC Val d'Aurelle—Bâtiment de Recherches, Montpellier, France.
Bernard Ledesert
Affiliation:
INSERM CJF 9702, Epidemiology of Neurodegenerative Disorders of the CNS, CRLC Val d'Aurelle—Bâtiment de Recherches, Montpellier, France.
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Abstract

Exposure to general anesthesia has been suggested as a possible cause of long-term cognitive impairment in elderly subjects. The present study reviews the literature in this field in order to describe postoperative cognitive impairment in elderly populations, to determine to what extent this may be attributed to anesthetic agents, and to consider evidence of a causal relationship between anesthesia and onset of senile dementia. A systematic literature search was conducted using five bibliographic databases (PASCAL, Medline, Excerpta Medica, Psychological Abstracts, and Science Citation Index). Significant cognitive dysfunction was found to be common in elderly persons 1 to 3 days after surgery, but reports of longer-term impairment are inconsistent due to the heterogeneity of the procedures used and populations targeted in such studies. Incidence rates vary widely according to type of surgery, suggesting that factors other than anesthesia explain a significant proportion of the observed variance. Anesthesia appears to be associated with longer-term cognitive disorder and the acceleration of senile dementia, but only in a small number of cases, suggesting the existence of other interacting etiological factors.

Type
Risk Factors for Dementia
Information
International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 9 , Issue 3 , September 1997 , pp. 309 - 326
Copyright
© 1997 International Psychogeriatric Association

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