Children with severe mental health disorders, including psychosis, have twice the rate of vitamin D insufficiency as mentally healthy children, new research suggests.
A study presented here at the American Psychiatric Association 2011 Annual Meeting by investigators at the Oregon Health & Science University in Portland showed 21% of children with severe psychiatric symptoms requiring residential care had serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) levels lower than 20 ng/mL (the American Academy of Pediatrics [AAP] minimum recommended level) compared with 14% of children who were participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III (NHANES III), a population-based study designed to assess the health and nutritional status of children and adults in the United States.
"The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency (43%) was most common in children with psychotic disorders compared to other mental health disorders," said first study author Mini Zhang, MA.
Vitamin D insufficiency is associated with a range of adverse medical outcomes, most commonly endocrine function and bone health, but more recently has also been linked to a variety of other medical conditions, including gastrointestinal disorders, asthma, cancer, and diabetes, added Ms. Zhang.
Furthermore, she said, recent research has linked low vitamin D levels to the development of psychiatric disorders, including depressive symptoms, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder.
In addition, there is a controversial hypothesis by researcher John Cannell, MD, who heads The Vitamin D Council, a nonprofit educational group, that vitamin D deficiency is linked to autism.
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