Vitamin D is an important component of promoting health and has many important functions in the body. Its stocks are passed from the mother to her baby in the womb and it helps regulate processes including brain development.

A new study showed that mothers' vitamin D levels during pregnancy were related to the IQ of their children, indicating that higher levels of the sun vitamin (vitamin D) during pregnancy may lead to higher IQ scores in children.

Melissa Melo, lead author of the study and a research scientist in the Division of Child Health, Behavior and Development at the Seattle Institute for Children's Research, says vitamin D deficiency is common among the general population as well as pregnant women, but notes that black women are at greater risk.

Melo said she hopes the study will help health care providers address the disparities between women of color and those most at risk of developing vitamin D deficiency.

She added, "Melanin protects the skin from sun damage, but by blocking UV rays, melanin also reduces vitamin D production in the skin. For this reason, we were not surprised to see high rates of vitamin D deficiency among black pregnant women in our study. Although many pregnant women take a prenatal vitamin, this may not correct an existing vitamin D deficiency.

"I hope our work brings greater awareness to this problem, shows the long-term effects of prenatal vitamin D on the baby and its neurocognitive development, and highlights that there are certain groups that health service providers should pay more attention to, including black women," she added.

According to Milo, up to 80% of black pregnant women in the United States may be deficient in the sun vitamin. Levels were lower among black women compared to white women.

Mello and her co-participants used data from a group in Tennessee called the Conditions Affecting Neurocognitive Development and Early Childhood Learning (CANDLE) Study.

CANDLE researchers recruited pregnant women to join the study starting in 2006 and gathered information over time about their children's health and development.

After controlling for many other factors related to IQ, higher levels of vitamin D during pregnancy were associated with higher IQs in children aged 4 to 6 years.

Although observational studies like this one cannot prove causation, Mello believes their findings have important implications and warrant further research.

"Vitamin D deficiency is very common. The good news is that there is a relatively easy solution. It can be difficult to get adequate vitamin D through the diet, and no person can make up for this gap through exposure to sunlight, so the solution is" Melo said. The good thing is to take a supplement. "

The recommended daily intake of vitamin D is 600 international units (IU). Foods with higher levels of the sun vitamin include fatty fish and eggs, and fortified sources such as cow's milk and breakfast cereals. However, Milo notes that vitamin D is one of the most difficult nutrients to obtain adequate amounts from our diets

More research is needed to determine optimal levels of vitamin D during pregnancy, but Milo hopes this study will help develop dietary recommendations for pregnant women. Dietary supplementation and screening may be an effective strategy for reducing health disparities, especially among black women who are at high risk of vitamin D deficiency.

Source: Science Daily

By:Nadeemy Haded