In Utero COVID-19 Exposure not associated with Neurodevelopmental Delays in Children:JAMA

• At 18 months, abnormal screens were noted in 22.4% (36 of 161) of exposed children compared with 20.5% (279 of 1,361) of unexposed children.

• At 24 months, abnormal screens were found in 19.2% (29 of 151) of exposed children compared with 16.8% (230 of 1,372) of unexposed children.

• An adjusted mixed-effects logistic regression model found that exposed children did not have a significantly increased risk of abnormal neurodevelopmental screens at 12 months (adjusted risk ratio [ARR], 1.07; 95% CI, 0.85-1.34), 18 months (ARR, 1.15; 95% CI, 0.84-1.57), or 24 months (ARR, 1.01; 95% CI, 0.69-1.48). Additional analyses also did not find differential risk based on timing of infection in relation to pregnancy trimesters or based on the presence of fever. The infection was not more commonly a case of immunologic failure if it occurred after vaccination.

The study concludes that in utero exposure to maternal COVID-19 does not increase the risk for abnormal neurodevelopmental outcomes in children up to 24 months of age. The prevalence of abnormal screens for children exposed to COVID-19 was very slightly higher, differences that were not statistically significant, offering reassuring evidence that maternal infection with SARS-CoV-2 in pregnancy is unlikely to harm the neurodevelopment in early childhood.

Reference:

Jaswa, E. G., Huddleston, H. G., Lindquist, K. J., Wu, A. H. B., Bishop, S. L., Kim, Y.-S., Kaing, A., Prahl, M., Gaw, S. L., Corley, J., Hoskin, E., Cho, Y. J., Rogers, E. E., & Cedars, M. I. (2024). In utero exposure to maternal COVID-19 and offspring neurodevelopment through age 24 months. JAMA Network Open, 7(10), e2439792. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.39792