It seems that there are a lot many concerns left for parents of toddlers, as a recent research has said that toddlers who are being given anesthesia at least once in the first two years of their life are more likely to suffer from attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It has been claimed by a team led by David O. Warner, M. D., a pediatric anesthesiologist at the Mayo Clinic, in Rochester.

Published this week in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings, the study involved 5,357 children born in Rochester, Minnesota, between 1976 and 1982. The team was shocked to know that kids being put through such operations twice were nearly twice likely to develop ADHD.

"We were skeptical that the findings in animals would correlate with kids, but it appears that it does", said the study co-author.

There are many cases heard about ADHD, and this is perhaps why so much is being said about the same. Though there was no glaring risk if given anesthesia once, dose more than two times could make significant difference in pushing one towards ADHD. However, the team is of the view that parents must not take stress out of this revelation and consult their doctors before making any final call on the same.

There is a need for extended study to be done in the same context to make any conclusive assertions to be used in clinical applications. Though toddlers are usually not being put though surgery requiring general anesthesia, if it becomes necessity to save their life, doctors have to use it.

This is not for the first time that impact of general anesthesia on brain development has been talked about, as there was a study which proved that administering general anesthesia number of times could put brain development of kids at risk.