ArticleJAMA network open2024
Positive Autism Screening Rates in Toddlers Born During the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Article in JAMA network open, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed.
- Maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy and child neurodevelopmental outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies.Preventive medicine reports · 2026Review
- Neurological and neurodevelopmental effects of Covid and MIS-C on children.Pediatric research · 2026Review
- Universal Autism Screening in Early Learning Programs: A Feasibility Study.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Prenatal exposure to SARS-CoV-2, early relational health, and child socio-emotional functioning in the first 6 months.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026Article
- SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy and neurodevelopmental outcomes in early childhood.Translational psychiatry · 2026Article
- 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
- Development of a revised and abbreviated version of the postpartum bonding questionnaire (PBQ-R): First U.S. validation and association to child outcomes.Infant mental health journal · 2026Article
- Neuroinflammatory mechanisms and pharmacological advances in autism spectrum disorder: from inflammatory pathways to targeted interventions.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- 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
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Authors and funding
28 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Importance: Stress and viral illness during pregnancy are associated with neurodevelopmental conditions in offspring. Autism screening positivity for children born during the pandemic remains unknown. Objective: To examine associations between prenatal exposure to the pandemic milieu and maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection with rates of positive Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers, Revised (M-CHAT-R) screenings. Design, Setting, and Participants: Data for this cohort study were drawn from the COVID-19 Mother Baby Outcomes (COMBO) Initiative. M-CHAT-R scores obtained from children aged 16 to 30 months during routine clinical care at Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York City were abstracted from electronic health records (EHRs) for children born between January 2018 and September 2021 (COMBO-EHR cohort). Separately, the M-CHAT-R was administered at 18 months for children born between February 2020 and September 2021 through a prospective longitudinal study (COMBO-RSCH cohort). Prenatal pandemic exposure (birth after March 1, 2020) and maternal SARS-CoV-2 status during pregnancy was determined through EHRs. Data were analyzed from March 2022 to June 2024. Exposures: Prenatal exposures to the pandemic milieu and maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was rate of positive M-CHAT-R screenings. For all primary analyses, unadjusted χ2 tests and adjusted logistic regression models were performed. Results: The COMBO-EHR cohort included 1664 children (442 born before the pandemic and 1222 born during the pandemic; 997 SARS-CoV-2 unexposed, 130 SARS-CoV-2 exposed, and 95 with unknown SARS-CoV-2 exposure status), of whom 266 (16.0%) were Black, 991 (59.6%) were Hispanic, 400 (24.0%) were White, 1245 (74.8%) were insured through Medicaid, 880 (52.9%) were male, and 204 (12.3%) were born prematurely. The COMBO-RSCH cohort included 385 children (74 born before the pandemic and 311 born during the pandemic; 201 SARS-CoV-2 unexposed, 101 SARS-CoV-2 exposed, and 9 with unknown SARS-CoV-2 exposure status), of whom 39 (10.1%) were Black, 168 (43.6%) were Hispanic, 157 (40.8%) were White, 161 (41.8%) were insured through Medicaid, 222 (57.7%) were male, and 38 (9.9%) were born prematurely. Prenatal pandemic exposure was not associated with a higher positive M-CHAT-R screening rate in either the COMBO-EHR or COMBO-RSCH cohort. Prenatal exposure to maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection was associated with a lower rate of M-CHAT-R positivity in the COMBO-EHR cohort (12.3% [16 children] vs 24.0% [239 children]; adjusted odds ratio, 0.40; 95% CI, 0.22-0.68; P = .001), but no association was found in the COMBO-RSCH cohort (12.9% [13 children] vs 19.9% [40 children]; adjusted odds ratio, 0.51; 95% CI, 0.24-1.04; P = .07). Conclusions and Relevance: In this cohort study of 2 groups of children with prenatal pandemic exposure and/or exposure to maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection, neither exposure was associated with greater M-CHAT-R positivity.
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