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. 2022 Dec 21;24(1):63.
doi: 10.3390/ijms24010063.

Maternal Vitamin D Levels during Pregnancy and Offspring Psychiatric Outcomes: A Systematic Review

Subina Upadhyaya  1 , Tiia Ståhlberg  1 , Sanju Silwal  1 , Bianca Arrhenius  1   2 , Andre Sourander  1   3
Affiliations

Maternal Vitamin D Levels during Pregnancy and Offspring Psychiatric Outcomes: A Systematic Review

Subina Upadhyaya et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

Prenatal exposure to vitamin D may play a significant role in human brain development and function. Previous epidemiological studies investigating the associations between maternal vitamin D status and offspring developmental and psychiatric outcomes in humans have been inconclusive. We aimed to systematically assess the results of previously published studies that examined the associations between maternal vitamin D levels, measured as circulating 25(OH)D levels in pregnancy or at birth, and offspring neuropsychiatric and psychiatric outcomes. Systematic searches were conducted using MEDLINE, Embase, PsychINFO and Web of Science for studies published by 10 August 2022. We included human observational studies that examined associations between prenatal or perinatal vitamin D levels and offspring neuropsychiatric and psychiatric outcomes and were published in English in peer-reviewed journals. Of the 3729 studies identified, 66 studies were screened for full texts and 29 studies published between 2003 and 2022 were included in the final review. There was a small amount of evidence for the association between prenatal vitamin D deficiency and autism spectrum disorder. When studies with larger sample sizes and stricter definitions of vitamin D deficiency were considered, positive associations were also found for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and schizophrenia. Future studies with larger sample sizes, longer follow-up periods and prenatal vitamin D assessed at multiple time points are needed.

Keywords: 25(OH)D; maternal; offspring; prenatal; psychiatric outcomes; vitamin D.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRISMA flow diagram of the study.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The number of studies for each outcome, stratified by the age groups assessed in the study. Some studies examined multiple outcomes and multiple age groups.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The number of studies for each outcome, stratified by vitamin D assessment time points in the study. Four studies assessed vitamin D at multiple time points.
Figure 4
Figure 4
The number of studies by the methods of examining vitamin D levels. Many studies had more than one way to examine vitamin D levels.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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