Children who received general anesthesia for surgery before the age of 4 had lower language comprehension and IQ, according to a new study in Pediatrics.
Here are six key notes:
1. Researchers examined the scores of 53 healthy participants of a language development study between the ages of 5 and 18 years with no history of surgery. They compared the scores with the scores of 53 children in the same age range who had undergone surgery before the age of 4.
2. Children included in the study did not have a history of neurologic or psychological illness, head trauma or any other associated conditions.
3. Compared with children who had not undergone surgery, children exposed to anesthesia scored significantly lower in listening comprehension and performance IQ.
4. Researchers also report that decreased language and IQ scores were associated with lower gray matter density in the posterior regions of the brain.
5. The anesthetics used during the surgeries included common agents such as sevoflurane, isoflurane or halothane (used alone or in combination) and nitrous oxide.
6. Researchers were from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.