Autism spectrum disorder and low vitamin D at birth: a sibling control study
Molecular Autism 2015, 6:3 doi:10.1186/2040-2392-6-3
Elisabeth Fernell, Susanne Bejerot, Joakim Westerlund, Carmela Miniscalco, Henry Simila, Darryl Eyles, Christopher Gillberg and Mats B Humble
Vitamin D levels at birth
| Origin | ASD Child | Healthy Sibling Typically a girl |
| Swedish | 14 ng | 19 ng |
| African/Middle East | 3 ng | 4 ng |
Dark skin - both autistic and healthy sibling had low vitamin D
See also Vitamin D Life
- Overview Autism and vitamin D
- Most Autism Risk factors are associated with low vitamin D - March 2014
- Autism Causes, Prevention and Treatment: Vitamin D Deficiency etc. – Book April 2015
- Autism risk reduced 2X by prenatal vitamins (Vitamin D or Folic) – Feb 2019
- Autism rate in siblings reduced 4X by vitamin D: 5,000 IU during pregnancy, 1,000 IU to infants – Feb 2016
- Autistic teens have lower levels of vitamin D than siblings or parents – June 2014
- Autistic measure 5X more likely if low vitamin D in second trimester – Oct 2012
- The study on this page noted an association of autism with Spring births, when vitamin D is lowest
Background
Insufficient vitamin D activity has attracted increasing interest as a possible underlying risk factor in disorders of the central nervous system, including autism.
Methods
In this study, 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) was analysed in 58 Sweden-born sibling pairs, in which one child had autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and the other did not. The study group consisted of two representative samples; 47 Gothenburg sibling pairs with mixed ethnicities and 11 Stockholm sibling pairs with Somali background. 25(OH)D levels were analysed in the stored dried blood spots taken in the neonatal period for metabolic screening.
Results
The collapsed group of children with ASD had significantly lower vitamin D levels (M = 24.0 nM, SD = 19.6) as compared with their siblings (M = 31.9 nM, SD = 27.7), according to a paired samples t-test (P = 0.013). The difference was - most likely - not only accounted for by a difference in season of birth between ASD and non-ASD siblings since the mean 25(OH)D levels differed with similar effect size between the sibling pairs born during winter and summer, respectively.
All children with African/Middle East background, both the children with ASD and their non-ASD siblings, had vitamin D deficiency.
Conclusions
The findings suggest that low prenatal vitamin D may act as a risk factor for ASD, however, there is a need for replication with larger samples. Future research should study whether or not adequate supplementation of vitamin D to pregnant women might lower the risk for ASD in the offspring.
Download the PDF from Vitamin D Life.
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