Relative and attributable risks of neurological and perinatal adverse outcomes among children with and without prenatal Zika virus exposure in Northeast Brazil: A prospective cohort study (2015–2018)
We observed similar odds of adverse birth outcomes and ophthalmological deficits in ZIKV-exposed and unexposed children. However, as compared to ZIKV-unexposed children, ZIKV-exposed children presented with markedly increased risks of microcephaly (RR, 95%-CI: 3.61, 1.70 to 7.63 AR 72%), neurological abnormalities (RR, 95%-CI: 5.64, 3.04 to 10.47.79AR 82%), audiological screening failures (RR, 95%-CI: 9.20, 2.59 to 32.69 AR 89%), and neuroimaging abnormalities (RR, 95%-CI: 22.06, 2.90 to 167.5; AR 95%). The risk of having concurrent abnormalities was lower than the risk of having just one abnormality. Our results provide new insights into the relative and attributable risks related to prenatal ZIKV exposure and demonstrate that, overall, the risks of congenital abnormalities are elevated among children exposed to ZIKV during pregnancy compared to their ZIKV-unexposed peers.
Authors
- Celina Maria Turchi Martelli (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2491-0688)
- Camila V. Ventura (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2927-4684)
- Sophie Helena Eickmann (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6523-2107)
- Marli Tenório Cordeiro (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8196-807X)
- Sinval Pinto Brandão-Filho (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3768-2810)
- Ricardo Arraes de Alencar Ximenes (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9951-8840)
- Maria de Fátima Pessoa Militão de Albuquerque (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4999-4160)
- Laura C. Rodrigues (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9008-660X)
- Ernesto T. A. Marques (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3826-9358)
- Priscila M. S. Castanha (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1220-5308)
- Paula Fabiana Sobral da Silva (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9475-4732)
- Mariana de Carvalho Leal Gouveia (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3358-2791)
- Liana O. Ventura (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6529-6883)
- G Fulco
- Regina Coeli Ferreira Ramos
- Wayner Vieira de Souza (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0939-9332)
- Ulísses Ramos Montarroyos (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8967-5693)
- Sandra Valongueiro Alves (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8532-5346)
- Adriana L. Gois (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5542-1097)
- Luciana Caroline Albuquerque Bezerra (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6074-6072)
- Demócrito de Barros Miranda-Filho (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2537-1476)
- Maria Ângela Wanderley Rocha (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6394-5739)
- Jacques Fontès (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3131-3398)
- Rafael Dhália
- Thália Velho Barreto de Araújo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9956-4145)
- George Santiago Dimech (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0295-3393)
- Elizabeth Bailey Brickley (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0280-2288)
- Pedro Pires Ferreira Neto (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1970-5321)
- Danielle Maria da Silva Oliveira (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3933-430X)
- Maria Durce Costa Gomes Carvalho
- Maria Eduarda de Campos Lemos da Silva
Institutions
- Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (BR)
- London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (GB)
- Secretaria de Educação de Pernambuco (BR)
- Fundação Altino Ventura (BR)
- Hospital Universitário Oswaldo Cruz (BR)
- Instituto de Tecnologia de Pernambuco (BR)
- Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (BR)
- Universidade de Pernambuco (BR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- PLoS neglected tropical diseases
- Published
- 2025-08-08
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0013344
- Primary Topic
- Mosquito-borne diseases and control
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Wellcome Trust
- European Commission
- Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior
- Governo Brasil
- Department for International Development
- Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico
- Fundação de Amparo à Ciência e Tecnologia do Estado de Pernambuco
- Ministério da Saúde
- Fundação Oswaldo Cruz
- Horizon 2020 Framework Programme
- Medical Research Council
- National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
- National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
- National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development