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Association between major surgical admissions and the cognitive trajectory: 19 year follow-up of Whitehall II cohort study

BMJ 2019; 366 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.l4466 (Published 07 August 2019) Cite this as: BMJ 2019;366:l4466

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The determinants of cognitive decline and dementia

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Re: Association between major surgical admissions and the cognitive trajectory: 19 year follow-up of Whitehall II cohort study

In the light of recent developments in achieving return of a considerable degree of cognition in dementia by oral intake of food additives and supplements and the association of the genesis of dementia with the gut bacteriome it seems likely that the history of antibiotic use associated with surgery / hospitalisation is a possible reason for the figures given here.

Antibiotics are a massive asset but their effect on the gut bacteria can be anything but directed at single strains and the effect on the balanced distribution in the gut may be beyond our knowledge.

Reference: https://www.ejmi.org/10.14744/ejmi.2019.15105/

Competing interests: No competing interests

10 August 2019
Andrew J C Carmichael
Charity researcher
Parkinson's Improvement Programme
PRESTON