Impact of SARS-CoV-2 Infection During Pregnancy on Infant Neurobehavioral Development: A Case-Control Study

Background: Previous studies on the pneumonia outbreak caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) have focused on the general population and pregnant women, while little is known about the effects of SARS-CoV-2 on retardation during and after pregnancy. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential influence of SARS-CoV-2 on infant neurobehavioral development.Methods: A case-control study was conducted in Wuhan Maternal and Child Health Hospital, China. Nine pregnant women with SARS-CoV-2 infection and 9 controls matched by maternal age, parity, and status of chronic disease were included. Infantile neurobehavioral development was assessed through the Ages and Stages Questionnaires Edition 3 (ASQ-3).Results: The majority of pregnant women with SARS-CoV-2 experienced cesarean section (7 of 9), which was higher than the control group (5 of 9). The throat swabs of all newborn were negative. We found that compared with the control group, neonates of mothers with SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy had lower scores in communication, gross movement, fine movement, problem solving, and personal-social domains; but only fine movement domain yielded statistical significance (P = 0.031).Conclusion: Infection with SARS-CoV-2 during pregnancy may have a certain impact on infant neurobehavioral development. Further studies with larger sample size are warranted for validation.

Association of Iron-Deficiency Anemia and Non-Iron-Deficiency Anemia with Neurobehavioral Development in Children Aged 6–24 Months

(1) Background: Anemia has comprehensive adverse effects on the growth and development of children. In this study, we analyzed the potential effects of different types of anemia on early-life neurobehavioral development. (2) Methods: A total of 2601 children aged 6–24 months, whose parents agreed to participate in this study, underwent routine blood tests and neurobehavioral development assessment. The children’s parents or other primary caregivers were interviewed with a face-to-face questionnaire at the time of enrollment in the study. Anemia was determined by hemoglobin < 110 g/L and classified into iron-deficiency and non-iron-deficiency anemia according to the levels of serum ferritin, C-reactive protein, and alpha-1-acid glycoprotein. Neurobehavioral development was assessed by the China Developmental Scale for Children and divided into five domains: gross motor, fine movement, adaptability, language, and social behavior. The development quotient (DQ) was used to measure the level of total neurobehavioral development and each domain of neurobehavioral development. (3) Results: The prevalence of anemia in children aged 6–24 months was 26.45%, of which iron-deficiency anemia only accounted for 27.33%. Compared with children without anemia, those with iron-deficiency anemia had a significantly lower developmental quotient (DQ) for total neurobehavioral development and gross motor and adaptability development. The partial regression coefficients were −1.33 (95% CI −2.36, −0.29; p = 0.012), −1.88 (95% CI −3.74, −0.03; p = 0.047), and 1.48 (95% CI −2.92, −0.05; p = 0.042), respectively. Children with non-iron-deficiency anemia had significantly lower DQ for total neurobehavioral development and gross motor and fine movement development than those without anemia. The partial regression coefficients were −0.94 (95% CI −1.64, −0.25; p = 0.008), −1.25 (95% CI −2.48, −0.03; p = 0.044), and −1.18 (95% CI −2.15, −0.21; p = 0.017), respectively. There were no statistically significant differences in total neurobehavioral development and the five domains of neurobehavioral development between children with non-iron-deficiency and iron-deficiency anemia. The partial β values were 0.40 (95% CI −1.53, 2.33; p = 0.684), 0.21 (95% CI −1.39, 1.81; p = 0.795), 0.63 (95% CI −1.03, 2.28; p = 0.457), 0.16 (95% CI −1.78, 2.10; p = 0.871), 0.35 (95% CI −1.32, 2.01; p = 0.684), and 0.34 (95% CI −0.77, 1.46; p = 0.545), respectively. (4) Conclusions: Both iron-deficiency anemia and non-iron-deficiency anemia were negatively correlated with the neurobehavioral development of children. Negative correlations were found between iron-deficiency anemia and gross motor and adaptability development and between non-iron-deficiency anemia and gross motor and fine movement development.

Effect of 9,12-Octadecadiynoic Acid on Neurobehavioral Development in Caenorhabditis elegans

Human breast milk lipids have major beneficial effects: they promote infant early brain development, growth and health. To identify the relationship between human breast milk lipids and infant neurodevelopment, multivariate analyses that combined lipidomics and psychological Bayley-III scales evaluation were utilized. We identified that 9,12-octadecadiynoic acid has a significantly positive correlation with infant adaptive behavioral development, which is a crucial neurodevelopment to manage risk from environmental stress. To further clarify the biological function of 9,12-octadecadiynoic acid in regulating neurodevelopment, Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) was used as a model to investigate the effect of 9,12-octadecadiynoic acid on neurobehavioral development. Supplementation with 9,12-octadecadiynoic acid from the L1 to L4 stage in larvae affected locomotive behaviors and foraging ability that were not socially interactive, implying that 9,12-octadecadiynoic acid is involved in regulating the serotonergic neuronal ability. We found that supplementary 0.1 μM 9,12-octadecadiynoic acid accelerated the locomotive ability and foraging ability via increasing the expression of serotonin transporter mod-1. Antioxidant defense genes, sod-1, sod-3 and cyp-35A2 are involved in 9,12-octadecadiynoic acid-induced motor neuronal activity. Nevertheless, supplementary 9,12-octadecadiynoic acid at concentrations above 1 μM significantly attenuated locomotive behaviors, foraging ability, serotonin synthesis, serotonin-related gene expressions and stress-related gene expression, resulting in the decreased longevity of worms in the experiment. In conclusion, our study demonstrates the biological function of 9,12-octadecadiynoic acid in governing adaptive behavioral development.