"People who catch COVID while pregnant might have a higher likelihood of having a child who is later diagnosed with autism or another neurodevelopmental condition, a new study has found. The results add to previous research showing that, among other factors, infections in general during pregnancy are linked to autism risk for the child. They do not, however, suggest that everyone who has COVID while pregnant will have a child with autism."
"Of the 861 children born to people who had COVID during pregnancy, 16.3 percent went on to receive a neurodevelopmental diagnosis by age 3 compared with 9.7 percent of the 17,263 children born to people who hadn't had COVID. The diagnoses included not just autism but also speech and language disorders, motor function disorders, and other conditions. When the researchers controlled for various confounding factors, COVID infection during pregnancy was linked to increased odds of these conditions of nearly 30 percent."
Pregnant people who tested positive for COVID had higher rates of neurodevelopmental diagnoses in their children by age three. Data from electronic health records covered more than 18,000 births between March 1, 2020 and May 31, 2021. Among 861 births with maternal COVID, 16.3 percent of children received a neurodevelopmental diagnosis by age three compared with 9.7 percent among 17,263 births without maternal COVID. Diagnoses included autism, speech and language disorders, motor function disorders, and other conditions. After adjustment for confounding factors, maternal COVID infection was associated with nearly a 30 percent increase in odds of these diagnoses. Absolute risk for autism remained relatively low.
Read at www.scientificamerican.com
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