Monday, March 16, 2015

Pregnant Women: How Vit D Deficiency Can Harm Your Unborn Child

Findings from a recent study in Pediatrics demonstrate:
  • An association of vitamin D deficiency with respiratory disease is due to an impact on lung development.
  • A significant association with language development at ages 5 and 10 years. The risk of having a child with clinically significant language impairment was increased by nearly twofold in women with the lowest vitamin D levels at 18 weeks' gestation compared with those in the highest percentage of the 25-OH-D distribution.
  • An increased risk for high scores in early adulthood on the Attention Switching subscale of the Autism-Spectrum Quotient for children of vitamin D-deficient mothers.
  • A significant predictive relationship between lower maternal vitamin D status and eating disorder risk in female offspring.
  • A significant association between maternal vitamin D deficiency and lower peak bone mass in offspring at 20 years. Total body bone mineral content was reduced by 2.7% and total body bone mineral density was reduced by 1.7% compared with children of vitamin D-sufficient mothers.

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