Cognitive function after surgery with regional or general anesthesia: A population‐based study

Abstract Introduction Our aim was to examine whether surgery with regional anesthesia (RA) is associated with accelerated long‐term cognitive decline comparable with that previously reported after general anesthesia (GA). Methods Longitudinal cognitive function was analyzed in a cohort of 1819 older adults. Models assessed the rate of change in global and domain‐specific cognition over time in participants exposed to RA or GA. Results When compared with those unexposed to anesthesia, the postoperative rate of change of the cognitive global z‐score was greater in those exposed to both RA (difference in annual decline of −0.041, P = .011) and GA (−0.061, P < .001); these rates did not differ. In analysis of the domain‐specific scores, an accelerated decline in memory was observed after GA (−0.065, P < .001) but not RA (−0.011, P = .565). Conclusions Older adults undergoing surgery with RA experience decline of global cognition similar to those receiving GA; however, memory was not affected.