COVID-19 and Neurodevelopmental Delays in Early Childhood: A Longitudinal Analysis of Developmental Outcomes in Korean Children

• DOI: 10.3346/jkms.2024.39.e243
• Publication Date: 2024-07-29T07:04:37Z
• Authors: Youn Young Choi; Kyung-Shin Lee; Seul Gi Park; You Sun Kim; Jeehye Lee; Ho Kyung Sung; Myoung-hee Kim
• Keywords: Pandemic; Disadvantaged; Longitudinal Study; Child Development; Gross motor skill; Developmental Milestone

This study employed a longitudinal analysis to evaluate the association between coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic and neurodevelopment by analyzing over 1.8 million children from Korean Developmental Screening Test for Infants Children included in South Korea's National Health Program. We compared developmental outcomes five age groups-9-17 months, 18-29 30-41 42-53 54-65 months-between pre-pandemic (2018-2019) (2020-2021) periods. Significant increases potential delays were observed during communication, cognitive, social interaction, self-care, fine motor skills across most groups. All groups experienced notable disruptions communication skills. socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds faced higher risks all domains. These findings highlight need targeted interventions continuous monitoring support needs of affected pandemic-related disruptions.