New research has found vitamin D during pregnancy could reduce the risk of ADHD.
ADHD diagnoses have increased in the last ten years, which has prompted researchers to conduct a new study.
The research took place in Denmark and the findings were published in The Australia & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry. The study was conducted between Odense University Hospital, the Psychiatric Service of the Region of Southern Denmark, Odense Municipality, and the University of Southern Denmark.
The study found vitamin D is a key factor in reducing ADHD in kids.
Researchers looked at 1,233 children, by measuring their levels of vitamin D in the umbilical cord. When the babies were 2 ½ years old, their mothers were asked to complete a Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL).
ADHD can not be diagnosed at 2 ½ years of age, but the questionnaire was used to identify early behavioural symptoms of the condition.
The team found a link between pregnant women who had vitamin D and the ADHD scores from their offspring when they were 2 ½ .
The study also took into account the mother’s age, alcohol intake, obesity, education, number of children, whether she smoked, psychiatric disease in the parents, child’s sex, age and seasonal variation.
Medical students Jens Bull Aaby and Mats Mossin who conducted the study said, “We were very surprised that the link was so clear, as there was no previous awareness that this link could be identified at such an early age.”
Vitamin D has been found to help decrease other conditions in babies, when taken during pregnancy. But this latest finding is a new study examining the link between vitamin D and ADHD in children.
Aaby and Mossin added it would be impossible to say with certainty which children would develop ADHD when they were older. And it will be “interesting to further follow up those children who were at the highest end versus the normal range of the ADHD scale,” they added.
The only possible reason vitamin D protects against ADHD is because vitamin D is important for early brain development.
Pregnant women can get more Vitamin D by consuming fish liver oil, fatty fish, milk, orange juice and eggs.
If you’re concerned about the amount of vitamin D you consume, be sure to speak to your GP.
