According to a study by Finnish researchers, supplementing with more vitamin D3 than is advised daily during infancy may lower the chance of developing mental health problems in later childhood.
A Finnish study found that consuming more vitamin D3 than is advised throughout early childhood may lessen mental symptoms in later life.
Children who received three times the recommended vitamin D dosage showed fewer signs of anxiety, depression, and withdrawn behavior.
The report issues a warning that further investigation is necessary to support these conclusions.
Every eighth child, according to estimates, has a mental health issue.
A few factors that predict children’s mental health issues have been found, but much more research is needed.
Low vitamin D levels in early childhood may be one factor raising the likelihood of mental health issues in later life, according to a previous study.
The relationship between vitamin D consumption and mental health has recently come under new scrutiny according to a new Finnish study.
As part of the study, a group of scientists from Finland looked at whether taking more vitamin D3 daily in early infancy than is advised lowers the chance of developing psychological symptoms when children are of school age.
The investigation examines how early vitamin D3 intervention impacts children’s growth and development and is a component of the Vitamin D Intervention in Infants clinical trial.
Children were divided into two groups randomly for the study; one received the recommended daily dose of ten micrograms of vitamin D, while the other received triple that amount, or 30 g.
The supplements were given to the kids every day between the ages of two weeks and two years old.
The most recent observation period for the kids was when they were between 6 and 8 years old.
In the most recent follow-up phase, 346 parents of children completed a questionnaire to rate their child’s mental health problems.
The study’s results showed that daily vitamin D3 intake beyond the recommended level decreased the chance of internalizing issues when children are in school.
In other words, compared to children who got the regular amount, children who received the greater dose showed less withdrawn behavior, anxiety, and low mood as reported by parents.
The study’s findings show that 11.8 percent of children who got the recommended daily amount of 10 g of vitamin D supplement until the age of 2 years old showed clinically significant internalizing issues, as reported by their parents.
5.6 percent of the kids who got the triple vitamin D supplement were said to be experiencing the same issues.
Samuel Sandboge states that “Our results suggest that a higher dose of vitamin D3 supplementation during the first years of life might reduce the risk of internalizing psychiatric symptoms in late preschool and early school age. The results and their potential implications are interesting, but further research is needed to confirm the results. In the interpretation of the results, we must note, among other things, that we studied the psychiatric symptoms only as parent-reported. Furthermore, the participants of the study were children with Nordic ancestry living in Finland who had good levels of vitamin D.”
In externalizing issues like aggression and disobeying the law, the researchers found no differences. Additionally, there were no changes in the kids’ overall severity of mental symptoms.
The findings were published in the academic journal JAMA Network Open.
