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Vitamin D deficiency more common among children with ADHD

SAN DIEGO ── School-aged children and adolescents with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder were more likely to have vitamin D deficiency compared with controls, according to study findings presented at the 2014 AAP National Conference and Exhibition.

Madeeha M. Kamal, MBCHB, FAAP, FRCP, of the Hamad Medical Corporation conducted a case-control study of 1,331 children aged 18 years or younger with ADHD, as well as 1,331 healthy controls to determine the association between vitamin D deficiency and ADHD.

Madeeha M. Kamal

“One of the parents of my patients said, ‘my daughter behaves better when she is on vitamin D,’ so I thought it would be a good idea to do the study,” Kamal told Infectious Diseases in Children.

Participants were divided into four categories for vitamin D levels: severe vitamin D deficiency ([25-(OH)D] less than 10 ng/mL); moderate deficiency ([25-(OH)D] 10-19 ng/mL); mild deficiency ([25-(OH)D] 20-29 ng/mL); and normal/optimal level ([25-(OH)D] 30-80 ng/mL

The mean values of vitamin D among participants with ADHD was 16.6 compared with 23.5 among controls (P<.0001).

“We found that vitamin D deficiency was more common among kids with behavioral problems and ADHD,” Kamal said. “This is the just beginning of a long series of studies. To my knowledge this is the first human study on behavior and vitamin D.”

For more information:

Kamal MM. #23459. Presented at: 2014 AAP National Conference and Exhibition; Oct. 10-13, 2014; San Diego.

Disclosure: The study was funded in part by the Hamad Medical Corporation and the Qatar Foundation.