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Vitamin D Status at Birth and Future Risk of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Peik Gustafsson1, Lars Rylander2, Christian H Lindh2
1Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
Insights
This study found no significant difference in newborn vitamin D3 levels between children who later developed Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and controls. The study lacked power to detect small associations between vitamin D and ADHD risk.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Neurology
- Nutritional Science
- Genetics
Background:
- Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder.
- Vitamin D deficiency has been implicated as a potential risk factor in various neurodevelopmental conditions.
- Investigating prenatal factors like vitamin D levels is crucial for understanding ADHD etiology.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine if intrauterine exposure to Vitamin D3 differs between infants who later develop ADHD and healthy controls.
- To explore the association between cord blood Vitamin D3 levels and ADHD diagnosis.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of umbilical cord blood samples from 202 children diagnosed with ADHD and 202 matched controls.
- Quantification of 25-OH vitamin D3 using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry.
- Logistic regression analysis to assess associations with ADHD, controlling for covariates.
Main Results:
- No statistically significant difference in cord blood 25-OH vitamin D3 concentrations was observed between the ADHD group (median 13.0 ng/ml) and the control group (median 13.5 ng/ml).
- Maternal age was significantly associated with ADHD risk (OR 0.96, 95% CI 0.92-0.99).
- Vitamin D levels did not show a significant association with ADHD (OR 0.99, 95% CI 0.97-1.02).
Conclusions:
- Intrauterine vitamin D levels do not appear to differ between children who develop ADHD and those who do not.
- The study's statistical power was insufficient to rule out a small to medium-sized association between vitamin D levels and ADHD.
- Further research with larger sample sizes is warranted to definitively assess the role of vitamin D in ADHD development.
Objective:
To investigate whether children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder have lower levels of Vitamin D3 at birth than matched controls.
Material:
Umbilical cord blood samples collected at birth from 202 children later diagnosed with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder were analysed for vitamin D content and compared with 202 matched controls. 25-OH vitamin D3 was analysed by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry.
Results:
No differences in cord blood vitamin D concentration were found between children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (median 13.0 ng/ml) and controls (median 13.5 ng/ml) (p = 0.43). In a logistic regression analysis, Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder showed a significant association with maternal age (odds ratio: 0.96, 95% confidence interval: 0.92-0.99) but not with vitamin D levels (odds ratio: 0.99, 95% confidence interval: 0.97-1.02).
Conclusion:
We found no difference in intrauterine vitamin D levels between children later developing Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and matched control children. However, the statistical power of the study was too weak to detect an eventual small to medium size association between vitamin D levels and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.
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