Maternal vitamin D levels and the autism phenotype among offspring

We tested whether maternal vitamin D insufficiency during pregnancy is related to the autism phenotype. Serum 25(OH)-vitamin D concentrations of 929 women were measured at 18 weeks' pregnancy. The mothers of the three children with a clinical diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder had 25(OH)-vitamin D concentrations above the population mean. The offspring of 406 women completed the Autism-Spectrum Quotient in early adulthood. Maternal 25(OH)-vitamin D concentrations were unrelated to offspring scores on the majority of scales. However, offspring of mothers with low 25(OH)-vitamin D concentrations ( Keywords Autism spectrum disorder * Autistic-like traits * Vitamin D * Prenatal * Pregnancy * Environment
Introduction Low levels of maternal vitamin D during pregnancy are known to be associated with a range of adverse health outcomes in offspring, including intrauterine growth-restriction (Morley et al. 2006), [...]