Researchers in a new study say the removal may increase the risk of
certain ailments, but other experts aren’t so sure.
The findings from the Danish researchers were published in the Journal of
the American Medical Association (JAMA).
The authors say data suggests that tonsillectomies and adenoidectomies
in children may increase the rate of upper respiratory infections and
asthma they experience when they become adults.
The researchers used the data of roughly 1.2 million children. Within that
group, about 17,500 had undergone adenoidectomies, nearly 12,000 had
tonsillectomies, and more than 31,000 had both surgeries.
The children in the study were born between 1979 and 1999, and the
researchers followed their health for approximately 30 years.
The data was culled from Denmark’s birth registry and national healthcare
records system, not personal medical files.
The authors cite a two-fold increase in upper respiratory disease in adults
who had either their tonsils or adenoids removed when they were
children.
In general, adults have a 12 percent chance of contracting upper
respiratory ailments, according to the authors. Adults who had undergone
adenoid or tonsil surgeries carried another 2 percent increased risk.
Sean G. Byars, PhD, a lead author of the study and a research fellow at the
University of Melbourne in Australia, told the New York Times that this is
the first study to look at long-term risks associated with surgical removal
of adenoids or tonsils.