Long term cognitive development in children with prolonged crying

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Babies' Excessive Crying May Signal Later Problems

BL Fisher Note: Excessive crying, particularly high pitched screaming, is a

well known indication of inflammation of the brain and has been associated

with reactions to pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine for more than 50 years.

Also known as the " cry encephalic " or encephalitic cry, unusual, persistent

crying following any vaccination should be taken seriously by parents and

reported to a child's physician as well as to the federal Vaccine Adverse

Event Reporting System (VAERS)

Archives of Disease in Childhood, November 2004

<http://adc.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/abstract/89/11/989?maxtoshow= & HITS=10 & hi\

ts=10 & RESULTFORMAT= & fulltext=Excessive+Crying+ & searchid=1100715741860_2997 & store\

d_search= & FIRSTINDEX=0 & volume=89 & issue=11 & journalcode=archdischild>

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Archives of Disease in Childhood 2004;89:989-992

© 2004 <http://adc.bmjjournals.com/misc/terms.shtml>

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Long term cognitive development in children with prolonged crying

M R Rao1,*, R A Brenner1, E F Schisterman1, T Vik2 and J L Mills1

1 Epidemiology Branch, Division of Epidemiology, Statistics and

Prevention Research, National Institute of Child Health and Human

Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, land, USA

2 Department of Community Medicine and General Practice, Norwegian

University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway

Correspondence to:

Dr M R Rao

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, 6610 Rockledge

Drive-Room 5095, Bethesda, MD 20892-6603, USA;

mr8u@... <mailto:mr8u@...>

Background: Long term studies of cognitive development and colic have

not differentiated between typical colic and prolonged crying.

Objective: To evaluate whether colic and excessive crying that persists

beyond 3 months is associated with adverse cognitive development.

Design: Prospective cohort study. A sample of 561 women was enrolled in

the second trimester of pregnancy. Colic and prolonged crying were based

on crying behaviour assessed at 6 and 13 weeks. Children's intelligence,

motor abilities, and behaviour were measured at 5 years (n = 327). Known

risk factors for cognitive impairment were ascertained prenatally, after

birth, at 6 and 13 weeks, at 6, 9, and 13 months, and at 5 years of age.

Results: Children with prolonged crying (but not those with colic only)

had an adjusted mean IQ that was 9 points lower than the control group.

Their performance and verbal IQ scores were 9.2 and 6.7 points lower

than the control group, respectively. The prolonged crying group also

had significantly poorer fine motor abilities compared with the control

group. Colic had no effect on cognitive development.

Conclusions: Excessive, uncontrolled crying that persists beyond 3

months of age in infants without other signs of neurological damage may

be a marker for cognitive deficits during childhood. Such infants need

to be examined and followed up more intensively.

{Ironically, infants with prolonged crying would seem likelier to have

increased susceptibility for adverse effects from toxins such as

thimerosal. The fact of " examined and followed up more intensively "

would increase the infant's likelihood of having more (forced)

thimerosal injections. -}