Children had increased risks of impaired motor and visual-motor skills after prenatal exposure to opioid maintenance therapy.

AIM: Preschool children prenatally exposed to opioid maintenance therapy (OMT) have an increased risk of neurodevelopmental impairments. We aimed to investigate long-term motor and visual-motor integration outcome in children aged 5-13 Years, born to mothers in OMT.

METHODS

From January 2018 to June 2021, 63 children prenatally exposed to OMT and 63 comparison children matched for age and gender, were examined at two Norwegian hospitals. Motor skills were assessed by the Movement-ABC test and visual-motor integration by the Beery VMI test. A motor function neurological assessment test was used to examine neuromotor soft signs.

RESULTS

In the OMT-exposed group, 16% had motor impairment, 35% had motor problems and 19% had visual-motor integration problems. Forty-three percent of the exposed children had neuromotor soft signs. Strabismus had some influence on motor and visual-motor outcomes but could not explain the group differences.

CONCLUSION

Children prenatally exposed to opioid maintenance therapy have an increased risk of long-term motor impairment and visual-motor problems. In addition, they exhibit significantly more neuromotor soft signs, which may affect general well-being, leisure activities and school performance.