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EXCLUSIVE: Multiple surgeries could lead to cognitive decline, an Australian study has found.
The study, led by the University of Sydney, used data from the United Kingdom’s Biobank to analyse half a million patients aged 40 to 69 and followed over 20 years of brain scans, cognitive tests and medical records.
It found that going under the knife several times could negatively impact brain function.
“We saw a slowing of reaction time of two milliseconds per surgery,” Dr Jennifer Taylor from the University of Sydney said.
“That impact is cumulative so for people who do have a negative cognitive impact, it can increase with multiple surgeries.”
Scans also showed reductions in brain matter, in areas that relate to speech, memory and regulating emotion.
“With each surgery, you might gain five months of ageing,” Nuffield Chair of Anaesthetics at the University of Sydney Professor Robert Sanders said.
“From our most recent study with UK Biobank we estimate that about one in 50 patients are at risk of significant cognitive decline after surgery.”
The study was not able to find an exact cause for the cognitive decline, but researchers suspect it could be linked to a number of things, including inflammation or problems with blood flow to the brain.
“Anaesthesia produces this huge effect on the brain but it washes out very quickly afterwards,” Sanders said.
“This study shows a new direction in which we can further enhance patient safety and patient care.”
Experts say surgeries generally remain safe, but the burden that multiple operations have on the body shouldn’t be underestimated.
“This is something that those of us who work with older adults having surgery have been concerned about for a really long time,” Geriatrician and perioperative physician Dr Kate Gregorevic said.
“I think it’s really important for patients to discuss these concerns with their treating doctors and to try and have a bit of an individual idea about how much risk they are at.”
Patients with dementia were excluded from the study.
