ArticleJournal of anesthesia2024
Association between general anesthesia in early childhood and neurodevelopment up to 4 years of age: the Japan Environment and Children's Study.
Article in Journal of anesthesia, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- A nursing perspective on bronchoscopic intervention strategies for children with macrolide-unresponsiveFrontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- Spigelian-Cryptorchidism Syndrome: A Literature Review and Case Report of a Rare Clinical Entity.Cureus · 2025Article
- Reply to the letter by Obara S.Journal of anesthesia · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeThe effects of general anesthesia on neurodevelopment in children remain controversial. We explored the relationship between general anesthesia and neurodevelopment in children participating in the Japan Environment and Children's Study (JECS).
methodsThis study enrolled children born between 37 and 41 weeks of pregnancy via single-vaginal delivery to pregnant women registered in the JECS between January 2011 and March 2014. Data were collected from mother-completed questionnaires and medical transcripts. Neurodevelopment in five domains was assessed every 6 months between 12 and 48 months of age, using the Ages and Stages Questionnaires. The associations between general anesthesia exposure during early childhood and neurodevelopment in children were evaluated at each time point. Adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were estimated after covariate adjustment using logistic regression models.
resultsChildren who received general anesthesia before age 1 year had higher risks of neurodevelopmental delay in all five domains throughout the observational period. The largest risk was for gross motor delay at 18 months (adjusted odds ratio: 3.51; 95% confidence interval: 2.75-4.49). The effects on the incidence of neurodevelopmental delays after age 3 were not observed except for problem solving at 48 months. The risk of neurodevelopmental delay in children who first received general anesthesia after age 1 was considerably small.
conclusionsThis study suggests that general anesthesia administration before age 1 is associated with neurodevelopmental delay during 1-4 years of age. The risk of general anesthesia after age 1 may be small.
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