Vitamin D boosted bone density, reduced ADHD in kids

Mothers’ vitamin D boosted kids’ bone density

In this study, doctors gave a 2,800 IU high dose or 400 IU low dose of vitamin D per day to 517 expectant mothers from 24 weeks pregnant through one week after birth. At age six, children whose mothers had taken high-dose vitamin D had greater whole-body bone mineral content, and head-bone (skull) mineral density compared to kids whose moms had the low dose. Children with rickets, a result of vitamin D deficiency, may have thinning or soft skull bones. Kids whose moms had vitamin D levels below 30 nanograms per milliliter of blood, or 75 nanomoles per liter, and children born in winter, saw the greatest benefit from high-dose vitamin D. Also, there was a tendency for fewer bone fractures in children from high-dose vitamin D mothers.

Reference: JAMA Pediatrics; 2020, Vol. 174, No. 5, 1-9

Mom’s low vitamin D linked to kid’s ADHD

This is the first population-level study demonstrating a link between low maternal vitamin D levels and increased chances for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in their children. Doctors measured vitamin D levels in 1,067 mothers whose kids were born between 1998 and 1999, and compared to 1,067 children whose mothers did not participate. Overall, children from mothers deficient in vitamin D during pregnancy were 34 percent more likely to develop ADHD compared to children whose mothers had sufficient vitamin D levels. In the U.S., 42 percent of the population is deficient in vitamin D, with higher percentages in premenopausal women, those with poor nutrition, and those over age 65.

Reference: Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry; December, 2019, Published Online