Upper respiratory infection during pregnancy and neurodevelopmental outcomes among offspring

Parker, Samantha E.; Lijewski, Virginia A.; Janulewicz, Patricia A.; Collett, Brent R.; Speltz, Matthew L.; Werler, Martha M.

Abstract Objective Maternal infection during pregnancy is associated with psychiatric disorders among offspring. The aim of this study was to investigate associations between upper respiratory infection (URI) in pregnancy and measures of cognitive and behavioral outcomes in child offspring. Materials and methods A longitudinal study of 534 mother-child pairs with information regarding prenatal exposures collected through an interview conducted on average one year after delivery and subsequent participation in a childhood cognitive and psychosocial assessment between the ages 5–12years. Childhood cognition was measured using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT-III) and the Beery-Buktenica Test of Visual Motor Integration-Fifth Edition (VMI-5) and behavioral function measured using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and teacher-report using the Teacher Report Form (TRF). Adjusted mean differences (adjMD) in outcome measures were calculated between mothers reporting the presence or absence of a URI during pregnancy. Results URI during pregnancy was not associated with the two measures of cognition given to offspring, but was associated with modest increases in total behavioral problems reported by mothers (adjMD: 3.72; CI: 1.91–5.54) and teachers (adjMD: 2.74; CI: 0.97–4.50). We observed differences in CBCL and TRF scores based on timing of URI: infections in mid-pregnancy (lunar months 4–5) were associated with poorer scores than were infections in early pregnancy (lunar months 2–3). Conclusions In general, URI in pregnancy was not associated with decrements in childhood cognition, but may be associated with behavior problems.