Prenatal infections could be a risk factor for psychiatric symptoms in children, according to recent research. The study, based on the Generation R Study, found that exposure to prenatal infection was linked to higher total, internalizing, and externalizing problems across development. The research, which analyzed data from over 3,500 mother-child pairs, used linear mixed-effects models to investigate the longitudinal association between prenatal infection and child psychiatric symptoms. The results suggested that prenatal infections are associated with psychiatric symptoms in children, starting in early toddlerhood and remaining stable throughout adolescence. However, the study had limitations, including the fact that prenatal infections were recorded retrospectively and causality could not be established.
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Prenatal Infections Increase Psychiatric Symptom Risk in Children
