The COVID-19 Pandemic and Early Child Cognitive Development: A Comparison of Development in Children Born During the Pandemic and Historical References.

Objective: To characterize cognitive function in young children under 3 years of age over the past decade, and test whether children exhibit different cognitive development profiles through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Study Design: Neurocognitive data (Mullen Scales of Early Learning, MSEL) were drawn from 700 healthy and neurotypically developing children between 2011 to 2021 without reported positive tests or clinical diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection. We compared MSEL composite measures (general cognition, verbal, and non-verbal development) to test if those measured during 2020 and 2021 differed significantly from historical 2011-2019 values.