Anesthesia Before Age 3 Years Linked to Speech Delay

Exposure to general anesthesia before the age of 3 years was associated with deficits in language reception and speech, according to a new study. 

Caleb Ing, MD, of Columbia University in New York and colleagues examined data from the Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study, which included 2608 children born between 1989 and 1992. Of those children, 321 were exposed to anesthesia before age 3 years and 2287 were unexposed. 

At age 10 years, exposed children scored significantly lower than unexposed children in the areas of receptive, expressive, and total language (Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals). They also had lower scores in cognition (Colored Progressive Matrices). The findings suggest that the deficits associated with anesthesia exposure may be confined to specific areas, ie, language and abstract reasoning.

The FDA already recommends that anesthesia should be used only when necessary in children under 3 years, and only in the lowest possible doses. When possible, procedures requiring anesthesia should be delayed until children are no longer in the period of peak synapse formation through age 3 years. 

-Michael Potts