ArticleBMJ paediatrics open2024
Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on neurodevelopmental outcomes of premature infants: a retrospective national cohort study.
Article in BMJ paediatrics open, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Association Between Neonatal Pain Exposure and Neurodevelopmental Outcomes in Very Preterm Infants During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Retrospective Observational Study.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Disrupted beginnings: Neurodevelopmental outcomes of COVID-19 lockdowns in early childhood (Review).Experimental and therapeutic medicine · 2026Review
- Brain Microstructural Alterations in Children Post-COVID-19 Infection Through VBM, SBM, and Structural Covariance Network Analysis.Brain and behavior · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo compare the neurodevelopmental outcomes of preterm infants before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
designPremature infants born in 2018 were assigned to the pre-pandemic group, while those born in 2019 were assigned to the during-pandemic group.
settingNationwide cohort study. PATIENTS: Very low birthweight premature infants registered in the Taiwan Premature Infant Follow-up Network database.
interventionsAnti-epidemic measures, including quarantine and isolation protocols, social distancing, the closure of public spaces and restrictions on travel and gatherings during COVID-19 pandemic.
main outcome measuresOutcomes were measured by Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development Third Edition at corrected ages of 6, 12 and 24 months old. Generalised estimating equation (GEE) was applied to incorporate all measurements into a single model.
resultsAmong the 1939 premature infants who were enrolled, 985 developed before the pandemic, while 954 developed during the pandemic. Premature infants whose development occurred during the pandemic exhibited better cognitive composite at the corrected age of 6 months (beta=2.358; 95% CI, 1.07 to 3.65; p<0.001), and motor composite at corrected ages of 12 months (beta=1.680; 95% CI, 0.34 to 3.02; p=0.014). GEE analysis showed that infants who had grown during the pandemic achieved higher scores in cognitive composite (beta=1.416; 95% CI, 0.36 to 2.48; p=0.009).
conclusionPremature infants in Taiwan who developed during the pandemic showed better neurodevelopment compared with those born before the pandemic.
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