Has the COVID-19 pandemic influenced the neurological development of children?

The COVID-19 pandemic caused a change in social interactions that may have had an impact on children’s neurodevelopment. We carried out a cohort study including all children born in the years 2017 and 2020 in the Autonomous Community of Aragon (Spain), with a sample of 21 484 patients; comparing the neurodevelopmental disorder diagnoses coded in two groups of patients (born pre- and. post-pandemic). We found an increased risk of neurodevelopmental disorder in children born in 2020 compared to children born in 2017, which was statistically significant in the areas of language and behaviour.