The study from the Mayo Clinic followed 5,357 children born in Rochester, Minnesota, between 1976 and 1982 to analyse the effect of anesthesia on the infants as they grew.

Research collected by the clinic suggested that of the children they followed, those who had at least two surgical procedures requiring anaesthesia before the age of three were almost twice as likely as their peers to develop ADHD by the time they were 19.

Of the group of infants, 7.3% of those with no exposure to anesthesia and 10.7% of those with a single exposure to the drug went on to develop ADHD though researchers from the Mayo Clinic deemed the difference to be negligible, statistically speaking. They concluded that one surgical procedure with anesthesia had no increased risk of developing ADHD.

Conclusion

Infants who had two or more encounters with the drug had a much higher chance of developing ADHD with 17.9% of the group being diagnosed with the behavioural disorder.

Senior study author, David O. Warner, said that the research does not mean anesthesia causes ADHD and that parents should not be concerned about necessary surgery their child required.

Source: Mayo Clinic Proceedings

Photography: CMRF Crumlin @Flickr