Association between Exposure of Young Children to Procedures Requiring General Anesthesia and Learning and Behavioral Outcomes in a Population-based Birth Cohort

Abstract

These findings in children anesthetized with modern techniques largely confirm those found in an older birth cohort and provide additional evidence that children with multiple exposures are more likely to develop adverse outcomes related to learning and attention. Although a robust association was observed, these data do not determine whether anesthesia per se is causal.