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Cord blood vitamin D and neurocognitive development are nonlinearly related in toddlers

Peng Zhu1, Shi-Lu Tong1, Jia-Hu Hao2

  • 1Department of Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China; Anhui Provincial Key Laboratory of Population Health and Aristogenics, Hefei, China; School of Public Health and Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, Australia;

The Journal of Nutrition
|April 17, 2015
PubMed

Insights

Neonatal vitamin D levels show an inverted-U relationship with toddler neurodevelopment. Both low and high vitamin D (25-hydroxyvitamin D) concentrations at birth were linked to poorer cognitive and psychomotor scores.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Nutrition
  • Developmental Neuroscience
  • Maternal-Fetal Health

Background:

  • Limited understanding of vitamin D's role in early neurodevelopment.
  • Investigating the impact of neonatal vitamin D status on infant cognitive and motor skills.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine the association between cord blood 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] levels at birth and neurocognitive development in toddlers.
  • Assessing the relationship between vitamin D status in early life and developmental outcomes.

Main Methods:

  • Prospective cohort study of 363 mother-infant pairs from the China-Anhui Birth Cohort Study.
  • Measurement of cord blood 25(OH)D via radioimmunoassay.
  • Neurocognitive assessment using Bayley Scales of Infant Development at 16-18 months.

Main Results:

  • Lowest quintile of cord blood 25(OH)D associated with significant deficits in Mental Development Index (MDI) and Psychomotor Development Index (PDI).
  • Highest quintile of cord blood 25(OH)D also linked to a significant deficit in PDI scores.
  • An inverted-U-shaped relationship observed between neonatal vitamin D status and toddler neurodevelopmental outcomes.

Conclusions:

  • Neonatal vitamin D status demonstrates an inverted-U-shaped association with neurocognitive development in toddlers.
  • Further research is required to determine optimal 25(OH)D concentrations for early life development.
  • Findings highlight the critical importance of vitamin D during early development.
Abstract

Keywords:
25-hydroxyvitamin Dcognitive developmentcord bloodinfantvitamin D

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