No increased rates of positive M-CHAT-R screening seen for offspring<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter<\/b><\/p>\n
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THURSDAY, Sept. 26, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Children with prenatal pandemic exposure and\/or exposure to maternal severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection do not have increased rates of positive Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers, Revised (M-CHAT-R) screenings, according to a study published online Sept. 23 in JAMA Network Open<\/em>.<\/p>\n Morgan R. Firestein, Ph.D., from the Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York City, and colleagues examined associations between prenatal exposure to the pandemic milieu and maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection with rates of positive M-CHAT-R screenings using data 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 were abstracted from electronic health records (EHRs) for children born between January 2018 and September 2021 (COMBO-EHR cohort; 1,664 children [442 born before the pandemic; 1,222 born during the pandemic]). In addition, the M-CHAT-R was administered at 18 months for children born between February 2020 and September 2021 (COMBO-RSCH cohort; 385 children [74 born before the pandemic; 311 born during the pandemic]).<\/p>\n The researchers found that in the COMBO-EHR and COMBO-RSCH cohorts, prenatal pandemic exposure was not associated with a higher positive M-CHAT-R screening rate. In the COMBO-EHR cohort, prenatal exposure to maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection was associated with a lower rate of M-CHAT-R positivity (adjusted odds ratio, 0.40), but no significant association was seen in the COMBO-RSCH cohort.<\/p>\n “Our findings suggest that neither prenatal exposure to maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection nor prenatal exposure to the pandemic milieu is associated with likelihood of positive screening results for autism,” the authors write.<\/p>\n One author disclosed ties to the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries.<\/p>\n