Does Exposure to General Anesthesia Increase Risk of ADHD for Children Before Age of Three?

Junjie Song; Huifang Li; Ying Wang; Chenguang Niu

doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2021.717093

Does Exposure to General Anesthesia Increase Risk of ADHD for Children Before Age of Three?

Front Psychiatry. 2021 Nov 24:12:717093. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.717093. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Junjie Song¹, Huifang Li¹, Ying Wang², Chenguang Niu^{1

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Anesthesiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University, Kaifeng, China.
² Department of Medical Hospital, Henan University, Henan Medical Hospital, Henan University, Kaifeng, China.
³ The Key Laboratory of Clinical Resources Translation, Henan University, Kaifeng, China.

Abstract

Objective: The objective of the study was to evaluate the relationship between frequency of exposure to general anesthesia before the age of 3 and subsequent risk of diagnosis for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Method: We searched PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library database for eligible inclusion in the meta-analysis. The indicated outcomes were extracted from the included studies, and the combined effects were calculated using the RevMan software 5.3. Results: Compared with no exposure to general anesthesia, single exposure to general anesthesia did not increase the risk of ADHD for children before the age of 3 [hazard ratio (HR): 1.14, 95%; confidence intervals (CI): 0.97-1.35; p = 0.11; I ² = 0%], while multiple exposures to general anesthesia did increase the risk of ADHD (HR: 1.83; 95% CIs: 1.00-3.32; p = 0.05; I ² = 81%). Conclusion: Multiple, but not single, exposures to general anesthesia in children before age of 3 increased the risk of ADHD.

Keywords: ADHD; children; general anesthesia; meta-analysis; multiple; single.

Publication types

Systematic Review