No firm answer is clear, and the sources do not show that anesthesia by itself causes dementia. They say the topic is still being studied, and there is insufficient evidence that regional anesthesia or total intravenous anesthesia lowers postoperative cognitive problems compared with other anesthesia types. Studies also found no clear difference in cognitive dysfunction between regional and general anesthesia, and no significant drop in delirium with propofol-based total intravenous anesthesia compared with a volatile agent.

What is better supported is that some people, especially older adults, can have postoperative delirium or postoperative cognitive dysfunction after surgery. Delirium is a sudden change in attention and thinking that often happens 24 to 72 hours after surgery. POCD means new thinking or memory problems that can last weeks to months, and sometimes longer. Older age and pre-existing cognitive problems raise the risk.

So, the safest plain answer is: anesthesia has not been proven to cause dementia, but surgery and anesthesia can be linked with short-term or longer-lasting thinking changes in some patients.