Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, 7 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ, UK.
Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 8AH, UK.
Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2021 Oct;30(10):1641-1650. doi: 10.1007/s00787-020-01644-y. Epub 2020 Sep 19.
Previous research suggests that prenatal maternal infections may be associated with increased odds of children having a neurodevelopmental disorder. However, little evidence exists on associations with broader child outcomes, especially subclinical symptoms. Participants were the N = 14,021 members of the population-representative UK Millennium Cohort Study. We examined associations between prenatal maternal infections, both maternal-reported and hospital-recorded, and children's socioemotional development, using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) at age three. Maternal-reported prenatal infections were associated with increased emotional symptoms, after adjusting for several potential confounds and covariates. Hospital-recorded prenatal infections were not associated with children's socioemotional outcomes, after adjusting for potential confounding and covarying factors. Findings suggest that prenatal maternal infections, particularly those which the mothers remember months later, may be associated with increased emotional problems in early childhood. This emphasises the need for screening for and preventing infections during pregnancy. Further, the occurrence of prenatal infection indicates the potential need for early intervention for children's emotional difficulties.
先前的研究表明，孕妇产前感染可能与儿童神经发育障碍的发病几率增加有关。然而，目前几乎没有证据表明孕妇产前感染与更广泛的儿童结局有关，特别是亚临床症状。参与者为具有代表性的英国千禧年队列研究中的 N=14021 名成员。我们使用 SDQ 量表（Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire）在三岁时，检查了母体报告的和医院记录的孕妇产前感染与儿童社会情绪发展之间的关联。在调整了几个潜在的混杂因素和协变量后，母体报告的产前感染与情绪症状增加有关。在调整了潜在的混杂因素和协变量后，医院记录的产前感染与儿童的社会情绪结局无关。研究结果表明，孕妇产前感染，特别是母亲在几个月后记得的感染，可能与儿童早期的情绪问题增加有关。这强调了在怀孕期间筛查和预防感染的必要性。此外，产前感染的发生表明，儿童的情绪困难可能需要早期干预。
