On Sept. 23, 2024, researchers from Columbia University reported that a study of Children born during the first year of the pandemic, including those exposed to COVID in utero, found they were no more likely to screen positive for autism than unexposed or pre-pandemic children.

The study examined nearly 2,000 children born at NewYork-Presbyterian’s Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital and Allen Hospital between January 2018 and September 2021. Autism risk was calculated based on responses from a neurodevelopment screening questionnaire. Scores were compared for children born during and prior to the pandemic and for children with and without in utero exposure to COVID. All children were screened between 16 and 30 months of age.

The study, published in JAMA Network Open, was the first report on autism risk among pandemic-era children.