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Young children who lived through the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated modest changes in developmental screening scores, according to a cohort study of more than 50,000 U.S. children.

Among kids age 5 and under, there were significant mean score decreases from the pre-pandemic to intra-pandemic periods in communication (−0.029, 95% CI −0.041 to −0.017), problem-solving (−0.018, 95% CI −0.030 to −0.006), and personal-social (−0.016, 95% CI −0.028 to −0.004) domains as measured by the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ), according to Sara Johnson, PhD, MPH, of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, and colleagues.

At the same time, there were no changes in fine or gross motor scores between the pre-pandemic and intra-pandemic periods, they reported in JAMA Pediatrics.

"Communication scores decreased approximately 3% and personal-social and problem-solving scores decreased approximately 2%," the researchers wrote. "Applied at the population level, a change of this magnitude would translate to 1,541 more recommended referrals per month across the U.S. over baseline."

Johnson said in an email to MedPage Today that there has been "a lot of uncertainty about what being isolated from friends and extended family, closures of schools and childcare, job loss, and other family stresses might mean for children's development. Until now, though, there hasn't been a large study of children across the U.S. to help answer this question." Head over to MedPage Today to read more about it.