# 1/5 The Cumulative Risk of Substance Exposure and Early Life Adversity on Child Health Development and Outcomes

> **NIH NIH R34** · RHODE ISLAND HOSPITAL · 2020 · $126,761

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY / DESCRIPTION
Does maternal infection by the SARS-CoV-2 virus during pregnancy harm the developing fetal brain or increase
the sensitivity to later developmental and environmental insults? he novel coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak has
fundamentally altered the child health landscape, ushering in sweeping changes in the social and economic
fabric within which children grow. The rapidity of these environment changes, coupled with the relatively novelty
of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the widespread nature of infections, have presented multiple pressing questions.
Among the unknowns that directly affect newborn and child health are: 1. How does Covid-19 infection during
pregnancy effect the developing fetus or subsequent infant neurodevelopment? And 2. How will the
unprecedented scale and scope of concurrent environmental changes impact child health and
neurodevelopment? Unfortunately, over the course of the outbreak, the impact on children has been slow to be
recognized with studies of Covid-19 infection or effects in infants and young children sparse to nonexistent.
Moreover, while the health and economic impacts of the Covid-19 outbreak have been felt by everyone, the
most severe effects have be felt by racial and ethnic minorities and lower income families. Thus, the most
sensitive families and children already at risk for worsened neurodevelopmental outcomes are
disproportionately and more intensely affected. Studies of newborns and infants are, therefore, critical to
designing effective guidelines of care for expectant mothers, optimizing early care and support for mothers and
their newborns, and prioritizing pre- and postnatal interventions. This supplement proposal aims to contribute
important and timely evidence for these outcomes by characterizing neurodevelopmental profiles in infants born
to mothers with and without antenatal Covid-19 infection, and examining the concurrent impact of social,
economic, and substance use factors. Building on two existing and on-going studies of infant neurodevelopment
(R34DA050284 and UH3OD023313), with deeply characterised longitudinal neuroimaging, neurocognitive,
socioeconomic, demographic, psychosocial and biospecimen data, we will first investigate differences in brain
structure, function, and connectivity development from birth to 1yr of age in infants born to mothers who were
infected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus during pregnancy and born between May 1, and Sept. 1, 2020, compared to
infants recruited at the same time but to non-infected mothers. We will also examine the impact of infection
timing during pregnancy and symptom severity on brain measures. Next, we will compare these brain
development trends to data from children who turned 1year old prior to Jan. 1, 2020, allowing us to examine the
impact of specific environmental factors, including maternal and infant stress, nutrition, sleep health, and parent-
child interaction that have changed due to outbreak-related lock-down and social di...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10194823
- **Project number:** 3R34DA050284-02S1
- **Recipient organization:** RHODE ISLAND HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** DIMA AMSO
- **Activity code:** R34 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $126,761
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2019-09-30 → 2021-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10194823

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10194823, 1/5 The Cumulative Risk of Substance Exposure and Early Life Adversity on Child Health Development and Outcomes (3R34DA050284-02S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-01 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10194823. Licensed CC0.

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