Removing tonsils and adenoids in children was associated with increased long-term risk of respiratory, infectious and allergic diseases, according to a new research
Tonsils and adenoids are commonly removed in childhood to treat conditions such as chronic and recurrent ear and respiratory infections and obstructed breathing. They are part of the immune system and are usually removed at ages when the child’s immune system is still developing. The study was undertaken to look at the long term effect of those surgeries.
The observational study which was published in JAMA Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery, included nearly 1.2 million children born in Denmark from 1979 to 1999.
It correlated tonsils or adenoids removed within a child’s first nine years of life with the risk of disease up to 30 years of age. All disease diagnoses were taken from the national health registries of Denmark.
It correlated tonsils or adenoids removed within a child’s first nine years of life with the risk of disease up to 30 years of age. All disease diagnoses were taken from the national health registries of Denmark.
“To our knowledge, this is the first study to estimate long-term disease associations with early-life tonsillectomies and adenoidectomies for a broad range of diseases. Risks were significant for many diseases and large for some. We showed that absolute risks and the number of patients needed to treat before enhanced health risks later in life become apparent were more consistent and widespread than the immediate population-wide benefits of childhood surgery for subsequent health within the first 30 years of life. The associations that we uncovered in the Danish population appear to warrant renewed evaluation of potential alternatives to surgery,” noted Sean G. Byars, Ph.D., University of Melbourne, Australia and colleagues.
The study however, did not address risks of diseases in people over 30 and it did not have large enough samples for rare diseases to obtain reliable risk estimates.
The authors suggested that it is important to consider long-term risks when deciding whether to remove a child’s tonsils or adenoids.
