Research Suggests Exposure During Critical Stages of Brain Development May Contribute to Rising Rates of ADHD and Possibly ASD
A recent meta-analysis from researchers at the University of Colorado suggests that early exposure to general anesthesia during critical stages of brain development might not be benign as once thought and could have lasting socio-affective consequences. These clinical findings speculate that general anesthesia can have adverse effects on the behavioral development of children ranging from internalizing behavioral deficits (i.e., anxiety, depression, somatization) and impaired executive function to an increase in externalizing behaviors (i.e., poor impulse control, aggression, inattention). After examining the data, the authors found that multiple general anesthesia exposures are associated with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and possibly autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Although the association between multiple general anesthesia exposures and ADHD appears to be fairly well established, prospective studies specifically focusing on the long-term development of ADHD are needed to examine this observation further. The authors also determined that despite similar trends in the prevalence of ASD at the population level, the link between early-life general anesthesia and ASD remains unclear. The meta-analysis concludes with a call to the scientific community to address whether environmental toxins such as general anesthesia administered during critical stages of human brain development contribute, at least in part, to the unknown category of the increasing number of reported cases of ADHD and ASD.
