Children Born During COVID Pandemic Appear to Have Lower IQs, Stunted Neurodevelopment

A study has found that children born during the COVID pandemic have “significantly reduced verbal, motor, and overall cognitive performance compared to children born pre-pandemic.”

Titled “Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Early Child Cognitive Development: Initial Findings in a Longitudinal Observational Study of Child Health,” the study was conducted by researchers affiliated with Brown University, an Ivy League institution located in Providence, Rhode Island. They examined the cognitive scores of children in 2020 and 2021 and compared them to those of 2011-2019.

The study, still pending peer review, collected data on 672 children in Rhode Island, all of whom are “healthy, full-term, and neurotypically-developing children” between three months and three years of age. The dataset included 154 cognitive assessments from 118 children between March 2020 and June 2021.

“Results highlight that even in the absence of direct SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 illness, the environmental changes associated [with the] COVID-19 pandemic [are] significantly and negatively affecting infant and child development,” the researchers wrote.