Every year, millions of children are exposed to anesthesia medications that have been shown to cause neurodegeneration in young animals. A study in the November 2011 issue of Pediatrics (published online Oct. 3), examined the effect of these medications on the learning and behavior of young children who underwent surgery before age 2. For the study, "Cognitive and Behavioral Outcomes After Early Exposure to Anesthesia and Surgery," researchers at the Mayo Clinic followed a cohort of children born between 1976 and 1982 to mothers living in a single school district in Rochester, Minn. Children who underwent a procedure requiring general anesthesia before their second birthday were matched with two unexposed control children from the cohort. School records were used to track which children developed learning disabilities. Among 5,357 children in the cohort, 350 underwent procedures with general anesthesia before age 2. Despite controlling for co-morbidity, a learning disability developed in 36.6 percent of those with multiple exposures to general anesthesia and 23.6 percent of those with a single exposure. Among the unexposed controls, 21.3 percent developed a learning disability. Exposure to anesthesia also appeared to affect the rate of children receiving an individualized education program for difficulties with speech and language, but had no effect on the need for individualized assistance for problems of behavior. Study authors conclude that they cannot rule out the possibility that multiple exposures to anesthesia and surgery may adversely affect neurodevelopment.
Taken from https://www.aap.org/advocacy/releases/oct311studies.htm
Exposure to Anesthesia and Surgery Before Age 2 May Cause Learning Disorders
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