Vitamin D found to contribute towards language development
Posted by Filed under Observations
Low levels of vitamin D in pregnant women have been found to be linked to difficulty in language development in children, say Australian scientists at the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research in Perth.
Researchers tested vitamin D concentrations of more than 700 pregnant Caucasian women, and conducted follow-ups until each child was 17. The most significant language impairment was seen in children aged between 5 and 10 years. Language development impairment which continued into primary school years affected 6 per cent of Australian children.
Lead author of the study, Associate Professor Andrew Whitehouse, said “the developing baby is completely reliant on the mother for its vitamin D levels and what we have shown is that this might have an impact on the child’s brain development.”
The main source of vitamin D is direct sunlight.
The new research was published in Pediatrics journal.