Autism, the protagonist of fake news about covid

childhood This is one of the most important moments in life, which, however, has been changed for a generation pandemic outbreakas is the case with covid generation. Study conducted by Columbia University and published in a scientific journal Jama Network analyzed the possible unusual environment faced by these minors born during the coronavirus pandemic, after various studies found differences in neurological development of these minors compared to previous generations and the possible associated risk autism. The results, however, deny a correlation between the pandemic and rising infections. autism spectrum disorder (TORCH).

The study involved 2,000 children, divided into two groups, born between January 2018 and September 2021 in Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital at Irving Medical Center (Kuimk) and Allen Pavilion Hospital from New York. As part of routine clinical care, all pediatric clinics affiliated to both hospitals began conducting universal health screenings for children. 18 and 24 months in February 2020.

After determining the onset of a pandemic in New York On March 1, 2020, the first cohort included 442 children were born before the pandemic and 1222 children born during COVID-19 pandemicand the second consisted of inclusions 74 children were born before the pandemic And During the pandemic, 311 children were born.
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Continuous long-term observation of minors made it possible to assess the risk of neurological development of children born before and during COVID-19 pandemic and those with or without prenatal exposure to the instrument M-CHAT-R. This mechanism, widely used for clinical and research purposes, has not shown an increase in the frequency positive screening for autism in the so-called Generation Covid compared to children born in the pre-pandemic stage.

None of cohorts showed significant differences between the analyzed groups. In the first, 100 children (22.6 percent) born before the pandemic and 283 children (23.2 percent) born during the pandemic showed signs of autism. In the second, 10 children (13.5 percent) born before the pandemic and 53 children (17 percent) born during the pandemic tested positive on the detection tool.

Surprisingly, the researchers found that prenatal SARS-CoV-2 infection in the mother was associated with lower rates of positive screens Thus, the main conclusions drawn from the study. Columbia University suggest that neither prenatal exposure coronavirus infection in mother neither prenatal exposure to a pandemic environment are associated with the likelihood of screening positive for autism.

Coronavirus causes moderate changes in cytokines

Despite this, the study warns that research suggests that coronavirus may cause mild but temporary changes in cytokine levels during pregnancywhich may be associated with the risk of neurodevelopment in children. One of the conclusions of the study is that it is necessary to continue to study the relationship between severity of infection and neurodevelopment.

However, scientists point out limitations associated with data analysis. In fact, participants in our analysis lived primarily in urban citywhere the prevalence of autism diagnoses is highest. Additionally, validation of the Spanish version of the M-CHAT-R was conducted in Spain, which experts noted may have been “culturally different from the American study sample.”