An alarming study linking the disease of pregnant women with coronavirus to an increased risk of autism in children was presented at a medical conference in Copenhagen.

Specifically, in the research presented in May, it was found that 23 of the 211 children born, i.e. 11%, are on the autism spectrum.

The research was done by pediatrician-infectologist Karin Nielsen, who studied pregnant women and newborns exposed to COVID.

According to a Bloomberg report, Nielsen had just completed a research project on how the emerging infectious disease Zika causes severe birth defects. Worrying that the coronavirus could have similar impactalso began investigating expectant mothers who tested positive for Covid.

After the study participants gave birth, medical staff at UCLA’s Mattel Children’s Hospital noticed something unusual. Many newborns were needed intensive care.

The researchers then analyzed videos of the infants using the General Movement Assessment, a tool designed to assess motor functions and assess risks for neurodevelopmental disorders such as cerebral palsy. It is alarming that 14% of infants presented signs of developmental problems during early assessments.

Subsequent clinical evaluations presented a similarly alarming picture. In infants aged 6 to 8 months, 13 of 109 born to mothers infected with COVID during pregnancy they failed developmental tests.

As the study expanded, it included more participants, and additional data. About 11.6% of infants born to mothers with confirmed COVID infection during pregnancy presented delays at cognitive, motor or language development.

The findings of the study coincide with the long-term consequences of COVID, which is the dementia and the early appearance developmental problems.

However, these findings were not accepted by the entire scientific community. While some research supports Nielsen’s results, others show little to no increased risk developmental or behavioral problems in children.

For example, a study published in JAMA in October 2024, showed that children born in the first year of the pandemic, including those exposed to Covid in the womb, they were not more likely to be autistic relative to unexposed or pre-pandemic children.