Exposure to general anesthesia in children under the age of four increases the risk of poor development and poor academic tests, according to results of a study published in the medical journal Pediatric Anesthesia.
Researchers conducted a study with 211,978 healthy children from birth to 4 years old. Research focused on the effects of one or more operations under general anesthesia performed in childhood on school results in 2009, 2012 and then over the period 2008-2014.
The results of the study showed that children who had undergone surgery under general anesthesia (37,880) were more likely to have poorer development, 17% more than other children (197,301) . General anesthesias also caused a decline in skills of 34% in arithmetic and 23% in reading. On the other hand, the children having undergone only one general anesthesia, do not seem to have a learning problem, except for the arithmetic level considered to be low.
“Parents should explore with their doctor other possible alternatives to general anesthesia: either avoid the operation, delay it to a later age or consider an alternative to surgery or other sedative methods,” advises one. study authors Dr Justin Skowno
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