Developmental impairment in children exposed during pregnancy to maternal SARS-COV2: A Brazilian cohort study

Abstract

Objectives: To determine the effects of in-utero exposure to maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection on offspring's neurodevelopment during the first year of life.

Methods: We performed a prospective cohort of babies exposed to SARS-CoV-2 during pregnancy, and a control group (CG) of unexposed babies in a low-income area in Brazil. Children's neurodevelopment was assessed using the guide for Monitoring Child Development in the Integrated Management of Childhood Illness context for both groups (at 1,2,3,4,5,6, 9, and 12 months), and the Ages & Stages Questionnaire (ASQ-3) for the exposed group (EG) (at 4, 6 and 12 months).

Results: We followed 137 children for 1 year, 69 in the COVID-19-EG, and 68 in the CG. All mothers were unvaccinated at the time of cohort inclusion, and maternal demographics were similar in the two groups. 20.3% of EG children and 5.9% of the CG received a diagnosis of neurodevelopmental delay within 12 months of life (P = 0.013, relative risk = 3.44; 95% confidence interval, 1.19- 9.95). For the EG, the prevalence of neurodevelopment impairment using Ages & Stages Questionnaire was 35.7% at 4 months, 7% at 6 months, and 32.1% at 12 months.

Conclusion: SARS-CoV-2 exposure was associated with neurodevelopmental impairment, and specific guidelines are needed for the follow-up of these high-risk children to mitigate the long-term effects on children's health.

Keywords: COVID-19; Child development; Maternal depression; Neurodevelopmental outcome; Social-emotional development.