AUTHOR=Song Junjie , Li Huifang , Wang Ying , Niu Chenguang 

TITLE=Does Exposure to General Anesthesia Increase Risk of ADHD for Children Before Age of Three?

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychiatry

VOLUME=12

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.717093

DOI=10.3389/fpsyt.2021.717093

ISSN=1664-0640

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Objective:</bold> The objective of the study was to evaluate the relationship between frequency of exposure to general anesthesia before the age of 3 and subsequent risk of diagnosis for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).</p><p><bold>Method:</bold> We searched PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library database for eligible inclusion in the meta-analysis. The indicated outcomes were extracted from the included studies, and the combined effects were calculated using the RevMan software 5.3.</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> Compared with no exposure to general anesthesia, single exposure to general anesthesia did not increase the risk of ADHD for children before the age of 3 [hazard ratio (HR): 1.14, 95%; confidence intervals (CI): 0.97–1.35; <italic>p</italic> = 0.11; <italic>I</italic><sup>2</sup> = 0%], while multiple exposures to general anesthesia did increase the risk of ADHD (HR: 1.83; 95% CIs: 1.00–3.32; <italic>p</italic> = 0.05; <italic>I</italic><sup>2</sup> = 81%).</p><p><bold>Conclusion:</bold> Multiple, but not single, exposures to general anesthesia in children before age of 3 increased the risk of ADHD.</p>