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Vitamin D in Pregnancy and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder-like Symptoms in Childhood

Eva Morales1, Jordi Julvez, Maties Torrent

  • 1From the aCentre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL), Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain; bVirgen de la Arrixaca Universtiy Hospital, IMIB-Arrixaca Research Institute, Murcia, Spain; cCIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain; dHospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM), Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain; eUniversitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain; fIB-SALUT, Area de Salut de Menorca, Balearic Islands, Spain; gUniversity of Valencia, Valencia, Spain; hCenter for Public Health Research (CSISP-FISABIO), Valencia, Spain; iDepartment of Basic Psychological Processes and Their Development, Basque Country University UPV/EHU, San Sebastian, Spain; jBiodonostia Institute, San Sebastian, Gipuzkoa, Spain; kPublic Health Laboratory, Basque Government, Bilbao, Spain; lHospital San Agustín, Avilés, Asturias, Spain; and mUniversity of Oviedo, Asturias, Spain.

Epidemiology (Cambridge, Mass.)
|April 14, 2015
PubMed

Insights

Maternal vitamin D levels during pregnancy may reduce the risk of attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms in children. Higher vitamin D (25(OH)D3) concentrations were linked to fewer ADHD-like symptoms and a lower risk of diagnosis.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Developmental Pediatrics
  • Nutritional Epidemiology

Background:

  • Prenatal vitamin D status is hypothesized to impact childhood attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) risk.
  • Prospective studies investigating this link are lacking.
  • This study examined the association between maternal vitamin D levels during pregnancy and ADHD-like symptoms in offspring.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the prospective association between maternal vitamin D status in pregnancy and the risk of ADHD-like symptoms in children.
  • To determine if higher concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 [25(OH)D3] during gestation correlate with reduced ADHD symptomology.

Main Methods:

  • A prospective study of 1,650 mother-child pairs from the INMA Project (Spain).
  • Maternal plasma 25(OH)D3 was measured at 13 weeks gestation.
  • Children's ADHD-like symptoms were assessed by teachers at ages 4-5 years using DSM ADHD criteria.

Main Results:

  • An 11% decrease in total ADHD-like symptoms per 10 ng/ml increase in maternal 25(OH)D3 (IRR = 0.89; 95% CI = 0.80, 0.98).
  • Significant reductions in inattention (IRR = 0.89; 95% CI = 0.79, 0.99) and hyperactivity-impulsivity (IRR = 0.88; 95% CI = 0.78, 0.99) symptoms.
  • A trend towards lower risk for ADHD DSM-IV and ICD-10 hyperkinetic disorder with higher maternal 25(OH)D3.

Conclusions:

  • Elevated maternal 25(OH)D3 levels during pregnancy are associated with a reduced risk of ADHD-like symptoms in offspring.
  • This finding supports the importance of adequate vitamin D status during prenatal development.
  • Further research may elucidate the mechanisms underlying this association.
Abstract

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