Neurodevelopmental Outcomes of Normocephalic Colombian Children with Antenatal Zika Virus Exposure at School Entry

Authors

Sarah B. Mulkey, Prenatal Pediatrics Institute, Children's National Hospital, Washington, DC 20010, USA.
Elizabeth Corn, Prenatal Pediatrics Institute, Children's National Hospital, Washington, DC 20010, USA.
Meagan E. Williams, Prenatal Pediatrics Institute, Children's National Hospital, Washington, DC 20010, USA.
Colleen Peyton, Department of Physical Therapy and Human Movement Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60611, USA.
Regan Andringa-Seed, Prenatal Pediatrics Institute, Children's National Hospital, Washington, DC 20010, USA.
Margarita Arroyave-Wessel, Prenatal Pediatrics Institute, Children's National Hospital, Washington, DC 20010, USA.
Gilbert Vezina, Division of Radiology, Children's National Hospital, Washington, DC 20010, USA.
Dorothy I. Bulas, Division of Radiology, Children's National Hospital, Washington, DC 20010, USA.
Robert H. Podolsky, Division of Biostatistics and Study Methodology, Children's National Hospital, Washington, DC 20010, USA.
Michael E. Msall, Kennedy Research Center on Intellectual and Neurodevelopmental Disabilities, University of Chicago Medicine, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
Carlos Cure, BIOMELab, Atlántico, Barranquilla 080001, Colombia.

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

2-13-2024

Journal

Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland)

Volume

13

Issue

2

DOI

10.3390/pathogens13020170

Keywords

Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function; COVID-19; Latin America; Movement Assessment Battery for Children; brain imaging; child development; executive function; infectious disease; motor; telehealth

Abstract

The long-term neurodevelopmental effects of antenatal Zika virus (ZIKV) exposure in children without congenital Zika syndrome (CZS) remain unclear, as few children have been examined to the age of school entry level. A total of 51 Colombian children with antenatal ZIKV exposure without CZS and 70 unexposed controls were evaluated at 4-5 years of age using the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF), the Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI-CAT), the Bracken School Readiness Assessment (BSRA), and the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (MABC). The mean ages at evaluation were 5.3 and 5.2 years for cases and controls, respectively. Elevated BRIEF scores in Shift and Emotional Control may suggest lower emotional regulation in cases. A greater number of cases were reported by parents to have behavior and mood problems. BSRA and PEDI-CAT activity scores were unexpectedly higher in cases, most likely related to the COVID-19 pandemic and a delayed school entry among the controls. Although PEDI-CAT mobility scores were lower in cases, there were no differences in motor scores on the MABC. Of 40 cases with neonatal neuroimaging, neurodevelopment in 17 with mild non-specific findings was no different from 23 cases with normal neuroimaging. Normocephalic children with ZIKV exposure have positive developmental trajectories at 4-5 years of age but differ from controls in measures of emotional regulation and adaptive mobility, necessitating continued follow-up.

APA Citation

Mulkey, Sarah B.; Corn, Elizabeth; Williams, Meagan E.; Peyton, Colleen; Andringa-Seed, Regan; Arroyave-Wessel, Margarita; Vezina, Gilbert; Bulas, Dorothy I.; Podolsky, Robert H.; Msall, Michael E.; and Cure, Carlos, "Neurodevelopmental Outcomes of Normocephalic Colombian Children with Antenatal Zika Virus Exposure at School Entry" (2024). GW Authored Works. Paper 4349.
https://hsrc.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/gwhpubs/4349

Department

Neurology