Perfil genético e desfechos do neurodesenvolvimento em crianças nascidas durante a pandemiade Covid-19 no nordeste brasileiro

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has raised concerns about the impacts of maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection on child neurodevelopment. This study investigated the relationship between genetic variants and neuropsychomotor development in a cohort of children born between 2021 and 2022 at the Maternidade Escola Assis Chateaubriand (MEAC) in Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil. Thirty children were assessed using a genetic panel of 229 genes, and 22 of them completed neurodevelopmental and autism evaluations with the Bayley-III and CARS scales, respectively. Genomic analysis identified variants of uncertain significance (VUS) and likely pathogenic (LP) variants in 28 genes. Notably, LP variants were found in the DHCR7, CNTNAP2, and CHD7 genes, which were associated with delays in the language and motor domains on the Bayley-III and with mild to severe ASD classifications on the CARS scale. Exploratory statistical analysis suggested a correlation between a higher number of VUS and lower developmental scores, particularly in the motor and cognitive domains. Environmental risk factors, such as gestational infections (47.06% UTI), hypertension (11.76%), and gestational diabetes (20.59%), were also prevalent in the sample. These findings reinforce the multifactorial etiology of neurodevelopmental disorders and highlight the importance of integrating genomic screening into child development monitoring to enable early and personalized interventions, especially in vulnerable populations.