2024-09-23 15:50:43
Children ‘children of the Covid pandemic’, including those exposed in utero to Sars-CoV-2 infection, do not appear to be likely to suffer from autism. compared to those born before the global epidemic of the new coronavirus or to infants who were not exposed to the infection. These are the “consensus data” that emerge from the first report on the subject, published on ‘Jama Network Open’ by a group of researchers from Columbia University’s Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, in the US .
A 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 in the United States. -Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital and Allen Hospital at NewYork-Presbyterian, whose parents filled out an autism risk assessment questionnaire.
“It is known that all kinds of negative stress suffered by the mother during pregnancy, including infections and stress, increase the risk of autism” for unborn children, explained Dani Dumitriu, professor of pediatrics and psychiatry and lead author of the action.
“The scale of the Covid-19 pandemic has led clinicians and developmental scientists to fear that we will see a rise in autism ratesbut in our study we did not find signs of this increase in fear, the observation of “reassurance” says.
Even if “it is too early to have accurate disease numbers”, and the study does not take into account autism diagnoses, but only the risk of its development, measured by a parent questionnaire, this tool is also “predictive – specific Dumitriu – and does not show that prenatal exposure to Covid or the pandemic increases the likelihood of autism.”
Children who remained in their mothers during the early stages of the pandemic are reaching the age where the first indicators of autism risk may appear. Therefore, through the project Combo – Covid-19 Mother Child Outcomes, Dumitriu’s group investigated the possible effects of Covid (epidemic-related maternal stress and maternal infection) on the development of the child’s muscles at different times from birth, 16 and 30 months of age.
Data comparison
The probability of autism is calculated based on the parents’ answers to the neurodevelopmental questionnaire, used by pediatricians to assess children’s behavior. The scientists compared the numbers of children born during the pandemic with those born earlier, and the numbers of children exposed in utero to Sars-CoV-2 with those of those not exposed. .
The main result of the study is that “no differences were found in screening positive for autism In children born before or during the pandemic.” Since “Covid is still widespread, this is good news for pregnant women who are afraid of the disease and this may affect the risk of autism” for their child, said Dumitriu. Also, surprisingly, the study showed some positive screenings for autism among children exposed to Sars-CoV-2 in utero, compared to those whose mothers did not get sick during pregnancy “We suspect they have Covid during pregnancy could have influenced the parents’ evaluation of the behaviors of their children “and therefore the answers to the questionnaire, Dumitriu hypothesizes.
As the children of the pandemic grow up, scientists will continue to monitor them for possible diagnoses of autism. But according to the published data, the first author believes “it is unlikely to observe an increase in autism associated with Covid. Children in utero at the start of the pandemic are reaching the age at which the first signs of autism will appear. , but in this study we did not find them and since it is known that the environment in the fetus has an effect on autism, this is very reassuring,” Dumitriu also said.
Scientists will also monitor children for other neurodevelopmental disorders, considering that many studies have been conducted on newborns conceived during previous epidemics, natural disasters, famines or wars. indicates the possibility of many neurodevelopmental problems even years later, in adolescence or even in adulthood. “We must know that children born in the pandemic have a unique and local experience due to the stress and social isolation of their parents, and we must continue to monitor them for potential developmental or psychological setbacks,” said Morgan Firestein, research associate in psychiatry and first author of the work.
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