Developmental and behavioural outcomes at 2 years in babies born during the COVID-19 pandemic: communication concerns in a pandemic birth cohort

Abstract

IntroductionThe CORAL (Impact of Corona Virus Pandemic on Allergic and Autoimmune Dysregulation in Infants Born During Lockdown) study reported a reduction in social communication milestones in 12-month-old infants born into the COVID-19 pandemic.AimsTo look at 24-month developmental and behavioural outcomes in the CORAL cohort.DesignThe CORAL study is a longitudinal prospective observational study of Irish infants born in the first 3 months of the pandemic. At 24 months of age, the Ages and Stages Developmental Questionnaire (ASQ24) and the Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL) were completed and compared with prepandemic BASELINE (Babies After SCOPE: Evaluating the Longitudinal Impact Using Neurological and Nutritional Impact) cohort.Results917 babies (312 CORAL infants and 605 BASELINE infants) were included. At 24 months of age, infants in the CORAL and BASELINE cohorts had similar developmental ASQ24 scores in fine motor, problem solving and personal and social domains but ASQ24 communication scores were significantly lower in the CORAL group compared with the BASELINE cohort (mean (SD) 49.5 (15.1) vs 53.7 (11.6), p<0.01). Infants from the CORAL cohort were more likely to score below standardised cut-offs for developmental concern in the communication domain (11.9% CORAL compared with 5.4% BASELINE, p<0.01). Unadjusted ASQ24 gross motor scores were lower for the pandemic cohort. Fewer CORAL infants fell under 2 SD cut-off in personal-social subdomain. For CBCL, there was no evidence of difference in scores between the cohorts on multivariable analysis.Conclusion24-month-old pandemic-born infants had largely similar developmental and behavioural scores compared with their prepandemic counterparts. Concerns have been raised in the communication developmental domain.

Influence of Sociodemographic Factors on Stunting, Wasting, and Underweight Among Children Under Two Years of Age Born During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Central India: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…Shuffrey et al in 2022 reported that birth during the pandemic was associated with delayed development, independent of maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection status, among American children [ 15 ]. Similar findings have been reported for Canadian and Irish infants [ 16 , 17 ]. There is an overall dearth of global data regarding growth indicators (wasting, stunting and underweight) among pandemic-born children which can independently affect childhood development.…”

Developmental Milestone Attainment in US Children Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Prior studies with smaller sample sizes showed variable findings across developmental domains, with lower communication and personal-social ASQ scores during the pandemic compared with before the pandemic. [17][18][19]24 Fewer studies have found decreases in problem-solving, although one study 19 found both increases and decreases in problem-solving scores depending on child age. Communication, personal-social, and problem-solving skills are honed during interpersonal interactions and may therefore have been most undermined by parent or caregiver stress during lockdowns, childcare closures, and social distancing.…”

“…Similarly, a cohort study of US children aged 0 to 4 years (n = 684, 87% from the Northeast or West regions) found that 8% to 15% had negative changes in developmental screening results from the prepandemic period to the intrapandemic period; boys had more than twice the odds of having negative changes in communication and personal-social domains compared with girls . A study in Ireland (n = 917) found lower communication scores but otherwise similar profiles of development and behavior among 24-month-olds in the intrapandemic period compared with a prepandemic cohort . To date, however, studies have largely focused on small samples, limited US geographical areas or regions, or settings outside the US .…”

“…17 A study in Ireland (n = 917) found lower communication scores but otherwise similar profiles of development and behavior among 24-month-olds in the intrapandemic period compared with a prepandemic cohort. 18 To date, however, studies have largely focused on small samples, limited US geographical areas or regions, or settings outside the US. [19][20][21] To our knowledge, no studies have examined the association between the pandemic and child developmental milestone attainment in a large US national cohort.…”

Infants born during the COVID-19 pandemic have less interest in masked faces than unmasked faces

“…The CORAL Study is a longitudinal study of over 350 Irish infants born into the pandemic 4. We have previously demonstrated that CORAL infants had limited social circles and a reduction in social/communication skills relative to a historical cohort at 12 and 24 months of age 3 4. We used eye-tracking technology to determine where 18-month-old CORAL infants fixed their gaze when looking at unmasked and masked adults.…”