Association Between the COVID-19 Pandemic and Infant Neurodevelopment: A Comparison Before and During COVID-19

Abstract

Aim: To investigate the association between the experience of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and neurodevelopment of 6-month-old and 1-year-old children and explore the differences in the association by birth order.Methods: This comparison study was embedded in the Born in Guangzhou Cohort Study in China. The exposed group included 546 6-month-old and 285 1-year-old children who attended neurodevelopment assessments between March 1 and May 15, 2020, and the non-exposed group included 3,009 6-month-old and 2,214 1-year-old children during the same months from 2015 to 2019. Neurodevelopment at age 6 months and 1 year was assessed by trained clinical staff using the Ages and Stages Questionnaires, third edition (ASQ-3) and the Gesell Developmental Schedules (GDS).Results: The experience of the pandemic in 2020 was associated with a higher risk of delay in the fine motor (adjusted OR: 2.50, 95% CI: 1.25, 4.99; estimated by logistic regression) and communication (adjusted RR [aRR]: 1.13, 95% CI: 1.02, 1.25; estimated by log-binomial regression) domains at age 1 year. The association between the experience of the pandemic and communication delay at age 1 year only existed in first-born children (aRR: 1.15, 95% CI: 1.03, 1.30) but not in later-born children (aRR: 1.02, 95% CI: 0.84, 1.25). No associations were observed in any domain among 6-month-olds.Conclusion: Experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic and related public health strategies might be associated with a higher risk of delay in the development of fine motor and communication in 1-year-old children; the association observed in the communication domain only existed in first-born children.

The COVID-19 Pandemic and Early Child Cognitive Development: A Comparison of Development in Children Born During the Pandemic and Historical References

“…Over the past 20 months, that environment has been fundamentally altered for many children. While the short and long-term neurodevelopmental impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic are not yet well understood in infants and young children (49), emerging reports are suggestive of reduced motor and communication skills (38). Results from this study add to this literature and are in agreement with these past studies.…”

“…However, emerging results are disturbing. For example, findings from a prenatal cohort in New York City recruiting during the earliest stages of the pandemic reveal reduced motor and cognitive development in infants at 6-months of age (37), and children 6 and 12-months of age born during the pandemic in Guangzhou, China, similarly show reduced communication skills compared to historical references (38).…”

COVID-19 in pregnancy: implications for fetal brain development

“…Early signals of adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes at 3-6 months, 1 year, and 1.5 years in infants and children exposed to SARS-CoV-2 in utero, and/or born during the COVID-19 pandemic are emerging [37][38][39][40][41]. A longitudinal cohort study of 57 infants with prenatal exposure to SARS-CoV-2 in China identified deficits in the social-emotional domain of neurodevelopmental testing at 3 months of age [40].…”

COVID-19 and pregnancy: clinical outcomes; mechanisms, and vaccine efficacy

“…115 Other preliminary studies have assessed different time periods following delivery, such as 3, 6, and 12 months, and also suggested that SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy can have detrimental impacts on the brain development of the fetus. [116][117][118] Emerging data suggests the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 is increasingly associated with severe illness in young children. 119 A large multicenter investigation indicated that COVID-19 was associated with widespread, temporary brain impairment in children and adolescents hospitalized with the virus.…”