Children born under the Covid pandemic, including those exposed in utero to Sars-CoV-2 infection, do not appear to be more likely to suffer from autism compared to those born before the global epidemic of the new coronavirus or to babies not exposed to the infection. These are “reassuring data” that emerge from the first report on the subject, published in ‘Jama Network Open’ by a group of researchers from Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, in the USA.
The study on 2000 children
The study – supported by the National Institute of Mental Health and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development – was conducted on approximately 2,000 children born between January 2018 and September 2021 at Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital and Allen Hospital at NewYork-Presbyterian, whose parents completed a questionnaire to screen for autism risk.
“It is known that practically any type of negative stress experienced by the mother during pregnancy, including infections and stress, increases the risk of autism” for the unborn child, explains Dani Dumitriu, professor of pediatrics and psychiatry and lead author of the study.
“The scale of the Covid-19 pandemic has prompted doctors and development scientists to fear that we would see an increase in autism ratesbut in our study we found no signs of this feared increase. A “reassuring” observation, says the expert.
Even if “it is too early to have definitive diagnostic numbers”, and the research did not take into account autism diagnoses, but only the risk of developing it, measured through the parent questionnaire, this tool is still “predictive – specifies Dumitriu – and does not show that prenatal exposure to Covid or the pandemic increases the probability of autism”.
Children who were in their mothers’ wombs during the early stages of the pandemic are reaching the age when the first indicators of autism risk may emerge. Therefore, through the Combo – Covid-19 Mother Baby Outcomes project, Dumitriu’s team investigated the possible effects of Covid (pandemic-related maternal stress and maternal infection) on infant neurological development at different times from birth, at 16 and 30 months of age.
Data comparison
The probability of autism was calculated based on the parents’ responses to a neurodevelopmental questionnaire used by pediatricians to assess the behavior of young children. The scientists compared the scores of children born during the pandemic with those born before, as well as the scores of children exposed in utero to Sars-CoV-2 with those not exposed.
The first result of the study is that “no differences were found in positive screenings for autism among children born before or during the pandemic.” Since “Covid is still quite widespread, this is comforting news for pregnant women who fear getting sick and that this could have an impact on the risk of autism” for their baby, Dumitriu comments. Surprisingly, the research also showed fewer positive screenings for autism among children exposed to Sars-CoV-2 in utero, compared to those whose mothers had not fallen ill during pregnancy. “We suspect that having had Covid during pregnancy may have influenced parents’ assessment of their children’s behavior” and therefore their answers to the questionnaire, Dumitriu hypothesizes.
As the pandemic children grow older, researchers will continue to monitor them for autism diagnoses. But based on the data that has emerged, the lead author believes “it is unlikely that we will see an increase in autism associated with Covid. Children who were in utero at the beginning of the pandemic are reaching the age when the first signs of autism would emerge, but in this study we are not seeing them. And since it is known that autism is influenced by the prenatal environment, this is very reassuring,” Dumitriu reiterates.
Scientists will also monitor the children for other neurodevelopmental disorders, given that several studies of babies conceived during previous pandemics, natural disasters, famines, or wars have indicated that various neurodevelopmental problems may persist years later, into adolescence or even young adulthood. “We need to recognize that children born during pandemics have had a unique experience and environment due to their parents’ stress and social isolation, and we need to continue to monitor them for potential developmental or psychiatric repercussions,” says Morgan Firestein, a research associate in psychiatry and the study’s first author.
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