Viruses (Mar 2023)

Growth Velocity and Nutritional Status in Children Exposed to Zika Virus during Pregnancy from Amazonas Cohort, Brazil

  • Lucíola de Fátima Albuquerque de Almeida Peixoto,
  • Marília Rosa Abtibol-Bernardino,
  • Cecilia Victoria Caraballo Guerra,
  • Geruza Alfaia de Oliveira,
  • Beatriz Caroline Soares Chaves,
  • Cristina de Souza Rodrigues,
  • Anny Beatriz Costa Antony de Andrade,
  • Elijane de Fátima Redivo,
  • Salete Sara Alvarez Fernandes,
  • Rodrigo Haruo Otani,
  • Alexandre Vilhena da Silva Neto,
  • Antônio Alcirley da Silva Balieiro,
  • Celso Rômulo Barbosa Cabral,
  • Djane Baia-da-Silva,
  • Márcia da Costa Castilho,
  • Camila Helena Bôtto-Menezes,
  • Maria das Graças Costa Alecrim,
  • Maria do Carmo Leal,
  • Silvana Gomes Benzecry,
  • Flor Ernestina Martinez-Espinosa

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/v15030662
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 15, no. 3
p. 662

Abstract

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The high incidence of Zika virus (ZIKV) infection in the period of 2015–2016 in Brazil may have affected linear height growth velocity (GV) in children exposed in utero to ZIKV. This study describes the growth velocity and nutritional status based on the World Organization (WHO) standards of children exposed to ZIKV during pregnancy and followed up in a tertiary unit, a reference for tropical and infectious diseases in the Amazon. Seventy-one children born between March 2016 and June 2018 were monitored for anthropometric indices: z-score for body mass index (BMI/A); weight (W/A); height (H/A) and head circumference (HC/A); and growth velocity. The mean age at the last assessment was 21.1 months (SD ± 8.93). Four children had congenital microcephaly and severe neurological impairment. The other 67 were non-microcephalic children (60 normocephalic and 7 macrocephalic); of these; 24.2% (16 children) had neurological alterations, and 28.8% (19 children) had altered neuropsychomotor development. Seventeen (24.2%) children had inadequate GV (low growth velocity). The frequencies of low growth among microcephalic and non-microcephalic patients are 25% (1 of 4 children) and 23.9% (16 of 67 children); respectively. Most children had normal BMI/A values during follow-up. Microcephalic patients showed low H/A and HC/A throughout the follow-up, with a significant reduction in the HC/A z-score. Non-microcephalic individuals are within the regular ranges for H/A; HC/A; and W/A, except for the H/A score for boys. This study showed low growth velocity in children with and without microcephaly, highlighting the need for continuous evaluation of all children born to mothers exposed to ZIKV during pregnancy.

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