Prenatal maternal infections and children's socioemotional development: findings from the UK Millennium Cohort Study. 2021

Hildigunnur Anna Hall, and Lydia Gabriela Speyer, and Aja Louise Murray, and Bonnie Auyeung
Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, 7 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ, UK. anna.hall@ed.ac.uk.

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.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D009035 Mothers Female parents, human or animal. Mothers' Clubs,Club, Mothers',Clubs, Mothers',Mother,Mother Clubs,Mother's Clubs,Mothers Clubs,Mothers' Club
D011247 Pregnancy The status during which female mammals carry their developing young (EMBRYOS or FETUSES) in utero before birth, beginning from FERTILIZATION to BIRTH. Gestation,Pregnancies
D002648 Child A person 6 to 12 years of age. An individual 2 to 5 years old is CHILD, PRESCHOOL. Children
D002675 Child, Preschool A child between the ages of 2 and 5. Children, Preschool,Preschool Child,Preschool Children
D004644 Emotions Those affective states which can be experienced and have arousing and motivational properties. Feelings,Regret,Emotion,Feeling,Regrets
D005260 Female Females
D006113 United Kingdom Country in northwestern Europe including Great Britain and the northern one-sixth of the island of Ireland, located between the North Sea and north Atlantic Ocean. The capital is London. Great Britain,Isle of Man
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D001523 Mental Disorders Psychiatric illness or diseases manifested by breakdowns in the adaptational process expressed primarily as abnormalities of thought, feeling, and behavior producing either distress or impairment of function. Mental Illness,Psychiatric Diseases,Psychiatric Disorders,Psychiatric Illness,Behavior Disorders,Diagnosis, Psychiatric,Mental Disorders, Severe,Psychiatric Diagnosis,Illness, Mental,Mental Disorder,Mental Disorder, Severe,Mental Illnesses,Psychiatric Disease,Psychiatric Disorder,Psychiatric Illnesses,Severe Mental Disorder,Severe Mental Disorders
D015331 Cohort Studies Studies in which subsets of a defined population are identified. These groups may or may not be exposed to factors hypothesized to influence the probability of the occurrence of a particular disease or other outcome. Cohorts are defined populations which, as a whole, are followed in an attempt to determine distinguishing subgroup characteristics. Birth Cohort Studies,Birth Cohort Study,Closed Cohort Studies,Cohort Analysis,Concurrent Studies,Historical Cohort Studies,Incidence Studies,Analysis, Cohort,Cohort Studies, Closed,Cohort Studies, Historical,Studies, Closed Cohort,Studies, Concurrent,Studies, Historical Cohort,Analyses, Cohort,Closed Cohort Study,Cohort Analyses,Cohort Studies, Birth,Cohort Study,Cohort Study, Birth,Cohort Study, Closed,Cohort Study, Historical,Concurrent Study,Historical Cohort Study,Incidence Study,Studies, Birth Cohort,Studies, Cohort,Studies, Incidence,Study, Birth Cohort,Study, Closed Cohort,Study, Cohort,Study, Concurrent,Study, Historical Cohort,Study, Incidence

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