The MedicalXpress report on the SAGES observational cohort (n=560 adults ≥70, followed 6 years post-elective non-cardiac surgery) correctly flags that 15% followed a steep cognitive-decline trajectory, with older age, baseline impairment, and postoperative delirium as predictors; yet it underplays that this is not an RCT and cannot establish causality, leaving selection bias and unmeasured confounders unaddressed. The study quality is moderate—prospective but single-arm with a small non-surgical comparator (n=119)—and no conflicts of interest are disclosed. Extending the lens of immediate personal fear affecting decisions within months, the coverage misses how such statistics interact with existing patterns in shared decision-making: a 2018 Anesthesiology meta-analysis of postoperative neurocognitive disorders (PND) across 19 studies showed similar trajectories but emphasized that delirium doubles long-term dementia risk, while a 2021 JAMA Surgery analysis of 1.2 million Medicare patients linked publicized cognitive warnings to 12% higher rates of surgery cancellation among those >75, often resulting in worse mobility outcomes. These connections reveal that the 1-in-7 figure, when stripped of nuance, accelerates avoidance behaviors more than informed consent. Clinicians need delirium-prevention bundles and preoperative cognitive screening to counter both the biology and the psychology.