Joanna Cosgrove, Online Editor02.14.13
According to researchers in Spain, a maternal vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy could adversely impact the mental and motor skill aspects of brain development in babies.
Led by Eva Morales, PhD, a medical epidemiologist in the Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL) in Barcelona, researchers measured the level of vitamin D in the blood of nearly 2,000 women in their first or second trimester of pregnancy and evaluated the mental and motor abilities of their babies at about 14 months of age.
At 14 months of age, neurocognitive and psychomotor testing revealed that mothers with levels above 40 ng/ml had infants with the best brains. The improvement curve appeared to improve slightly with a maternal level of 50 ng/ml, but the difference did not appear to be significant.
The researchers found that children of vitamin D-deficient mothers scored lower than those whose mothers had adequate levels of the sunshine vitamin. “Lower scores in these tests could lead to lower IQs among children,” said Dr. Morales. “These differences in the mental and psychomotor development scor
Led by Eva Morales, PhD, a medical epidemiologist in the Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL) in Barcelona, researchers measured the level of vitamin D in the blood of nearly 2,000 women in their first or second trimester of pregnancy and evaluated the mental and motor abilities of their babies at about 14 months of age.
At 14 months of age, neurocognitive and psychomotor testing revealed that mothers with levels above 40 ng/ml had infants with the best brains. The improvement curve appeared to improve slightly with a maternal level of 50 ng/ml, but the difference did not appear to be significant.
The researchers found that children of vitamin D-deficient mothers scored lower than those whose mothers had adequate levels of the sunshine vitamin. “Lower scores in these tests could lead to lower IQs among children,” said Dr. Morales. “These differences in the mental and psychomotor development scor
Continue reading this story and get 24/7 access to Nutraceuticals World for FREE
FREE SUBSCRIPTION
