Pediatric anesthesia & critical care
Early exposure to general anesthesia may contribute to later attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): A systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies
Pooled resultResult — go to the resultRelative risk 1.26 95% CI 1.16–1.38Authors' conclusion
Exposure to general anesthesia during early childhood increases the risk of developing attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. In particular, multiple general anesthesia exposures and exposures longer than 60 min significantly increase the risk of developing ADHD.
Study context
- Population
- Children undergoing GA
- Comparison
- Any GA exposure vs no anaesthetic exposure
- Outcome
- Risk of developing ADHD after GA exposure
Pooled result
As reported in the abstract
Relative risk
1.26
95% CI 1.16–1.38
P < 0.001
General anesthesia vs Non-anesthetic exposures
RR 1.26 (95% CI 1.16–1.38); P < 0.001
Further pooled results
ADHD risk, single GA exposure (subgroup)
| RR (95% CI) | P value | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Single exposure to general anesthesiaI2 = 2.6% | 1.29 (1.19–1.40) | P < 0.001 | |
| 0.512Relative risk (log scale) |
ADHD risk, multiple GA exposures (subgroup)
| RR (95% CI) | P value | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Multiple general anesthesia exposuresI2 = 57.6% | 1.61 (1.32–1.97) | P < 0.001 | |
| 0.512Relative risk (log scale) |
ADHD risk, GA exposure 1-60 min (subgroup)
| RR (95% CI) | P value | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| General anesthesia lasting 1-60 minI2 = 0.0% | 1.38 (1.26–1.51) | P < 0.001 | |
| 0.512Relative risk (log scale) |
ADHD risk, GA exposure 61-120 min (subgroup)
| RR (95% CI) | P value | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Longer durations of exposure (61-120 min)I2 = 37.8% | 1.55 (1.21–1.99) | P = 0.001 | |
| 0.512Relative risk (log scale) |
ADHD risk, GA exposure >120 min (subgroup)
| RR (95% CI) | P value | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Exposures exceeding 120 minI2 = 0.0% | 1.55 (1.35–1.79) | P < 0.001 | |
| 0.512Relative risk (log scale) |
- No additional increase in ADHD risk with exposures exceeding 120 min
Original publication
Early exposure to general anesthesia may contribute to later attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): A systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies. J Clin Anesth. Published 16 August 2024. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →