Childhood Anesthesia Exposure Could Lead to Developmental Disorders

A new study indicates a possible link between childhood exposure to general anesthesia (GA) and an increased risk of behavioral and developmental disorders.

Researchers at Columbia University (New York, NY, USA) performed an analysis of 625 children under the age of three (born between 1999 and 2000) who were exposed to GA as part of an uncomplicated hernia repair; the purpose of the study was to examine the possible neurotoxic effects of commonly used anesthetic agents on the developing human brain. The study results showed that when compared to a random sample of 5,000 children with no history of GA exposure, and after adjusting for factors known to be associated with behavioral and developmental disorders (including low birth weight and gender) the children exposed to anesthetic agents were twice as likely to be subsequently diagnosed with such disorders. The study was presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Anesthesiologists, held during October 2008 in Orlando (FL, USA).

"Given that the study subjects were taken from a Medicaid population, one limitation of the data is the demographic factors of this group that may vary from the general population,” said lead author and study presenter Lena Sun, M.D., a professor of anesthesiology and pediatrics. However, she added, "the excess risk of developmental and behavioral disorders in the children exposed to anesthesia cannot be completely explained by demographic factors or confounding health factors including premature birth or low birth weight.”

The researchers stressed the need for more rigorous studies to assess the long-term health effects of exposure to GA in young children, and especially the need to determine long-term effects of exposure with continued follow-up of the study subjects, as well as design additional studies in which direct neuro-developmental outcomes could be assessed.

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