SynthesisPediatric research2024
Antenatal and neonatal exposure to SARS-CoV-2 and children's development: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Pediatric research, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 10 citations in OpenAlex.
- The association of in utero SARS-CoV-2 exposure on neurodevelopmental outcomes at 12 and 22 months.Journal of perinatology : official journal of the California Perinatal Association · 2026Article
- Maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy and child neurodevelopmental outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies.Preventive medicine reports · 2026Review
- The Timing of Intrauterine Exposure to Maternal SARS-CoV-2 Infection Impacts Neurodevelopment and Growth Trajectories During the First Year of Life.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis: The Associations of Prenatal Exposure to SARS-CoV-2 Infection and COVID-19 Vaccination With Child Neurodevelopment.Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry · 2025Review
- Neurodevelopmental Outcomes in Children Born to Mothers Infected with SARS-CoV-2 During Pregnancy: A Narrative Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
- The role of maternal infections in neurodevelopmental psychiatric disorders: focus on the P2X7/NLRP3/IL-1β signalling pathway.Journal of neuroinflammation · 2025Review
- Early life exposure to SARS-CoV-2 and offspring neurodevelopment: detecting a non-linear relationship requires a complex approach.Pediatric research · 2024Article
- Association of antenatal or neonatal SARS-COV-2 exposure with developmental and respiratory outcomes, and healthcare usage in early childhood: a national prospective cohort study.EClinicalMedicine · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesTo conduct a systematic review of the impact of antenatal and neonatal exposure to SARS-CoV-2 on developmental outcomes in preterm and term-born infants.
methodsWe searched Embase, Emcare, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Web of Science and grey literature on May 27, 2022 and updated on May 8, 2023. Studies defining exposure with a positive SARS-CoV-2 protein or genetic material, used a contemporaneous non-exposed cohort, and reported developmental outcomes up to 2 years of age were included.
resultsFour out of 828 screened studies were included. Meta-analysis included 815 infants screened for developmental delay (n = 306 exposed; n = 509 non-exposed) between 3- and 11-months of age. Among term-born infants, we did not find an increased risk of delay in communication (odd's ratio: 0.73 (95% CI: 0.24-2.24)), gross motor (1.50 (0.62, 3.62)), fine motor (2.90 (0.58, 14.43)), problem-solving (1.19 (0.54, 2.66)) or personal-social development (1.93 (0.78, 4.75)) in exposed infants. The number of preterm-born infants in the exposed (n = 37) and comparison cohorts (n = 41) were too few to report meaningful comparisons.
conclusionEvidence regarding the potential impact of antenatal or neonatal exposure to SARS-CoV-2 infection on developmental outcomes in early infancy is limited and inconsistent. Larger cohorts with outcomes beyond the first year of life are needed. IMPACT: The current evidence examining associations between SARS-CoV-2 exposure during the neonatal period and developmental outcomes in infancy is limited by there being few studies with extremely small sample sizes. Based on sparse data there was no consistent association between antenatal or neonatal exposure to SARS-CoV-2 infection and an adverse impact on developmental outcomes below 12 months of age for babies born preterm or at term. This study highlights that larger cohorts with outcomes assessed beyond the first year are needed to determine the potential longer-term impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection exposure on child development.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.