Study: Childhood anesthesia linked to learning disabilities, ADHD

Editor's Note

Children with multiple exposures to anesthesia before age 3 are more likely to develop adverse outcomes related to learning and attention, this study finds.

Of 116 multiply exposed, 457 singly exposed, and 463 unexposed children included in the analysis, multiple, but not single, anesthesia exposures were associated with an increased frequency of learning disabilities and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Multiple exposures also were associated with decreased cognitive ability and academic achievement, and single exposures with modest decreases in reading and language achievement but not cognitive ability.

Though a robust association was found, the data do not determine whether anesthesia per se is causal, the authors say.

Abstract Background: Exposure of young animals to general anesthesia causes neurodegeneration and lasting behavioral abnormalities; whether these findings translate to children remains unclear. This study used a population-based birth cohort to test the hypothesis that multiple, but not single, exposures to procedures requiring general anesthesia ...