Vitamin D May Benefit Children With Autism

by | Dec 2, 2016 | 2016, Autism, Infant and Children's Health, Vitamin D - General

Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS.  After 4 months of supplementation, vitamin D levels increased by 74.5% in the vitamin D group compared to a 4% increase in the placebo group.

autismAutism Spectrum Disorder is defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as “a developmental disability that can cause significant social, communication and behavioral challenges” 1. The CDC also states that 1 in 68 U.S. children are currently diagnosed with autism, which is currently 4.5 times more common in boys than girls 2. Individual treatment costs exceed $3 million over the lifetime of someone with autism 3.

With no cure for autism as of the writing of this article, treatment in the form of behavioral therapy and medication focuses primarily on improving symptoms and has “no significant effects on improving the core symptoms of autism” 4,5. Now, a 2016 study 6 suggests that vitamin D may be another adjunctive treatment option. In the study, 109 autistic children (85 boys, 24 girls) aged 3 to 10 with autism (diagnosed using criteria from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition) 7 received either 300 IU of vitamin D per kilogram of bodyweight per day or a placebo for four months. Vitamin D supplementation did not exceed 5,000 IU per day.

Before and after the study, vitamin D blood samples were obtained to measure vitamin D levels of each participant. “Normal” levels were defined as greater than 30 nanograms/milliliter, “insufficiency” as 20-30 ng/ml, and “deficiency” as less than 20 ng/ml 8.

Three different methods were used to evaluate the subjects for autism:

  • Childhood Autism Rating Scale (60-point scale) 9, with a total score between 15 and 29.5 as “non-autistic”, scores between 30.5 and 37 as “mildly–moderately autistic” and scores above 37. 5 as “severely autistic” 10.
  • Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist 11 consisting of four subscales with a total of 180 total points, with higher scores indicating more severe autism symptoms.
  • Social Responsiveness Scale consisting of 65 items extensively validated which distinguish ASD from other psychiatric disorders 12.

After 4 months, vitamin D levels increased by 74.5% in the vitamin D group (26.3 to 45.9 ng/mL) compared to a 4% increase in the placebo group (27.1 to 28.2 ng/mL, p < 0.01). The following testing results were noted:

Placebo Vitamin Dp-value
Childhood Autism Rating Scale1.9% decrease
(37.1 to 36.4)
17.7% decrease
(36.8 to 30.3)
0.02
Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist1.2% increase
(72.2 to 73.1)
34.3% decrease
(71.9 to 47.3)
< 0.01
Social Responsiveness Scale0.8% decrease
(75.6 to 75)
5% decrease
(74.8 to 71.1)
< 0.01

For the researchers, “oral vitamin D supplementation may safely improve signs and symptoms of autism spectrum disorder and could be recommended for children with autism spectrum disorder”. They added that “a great deal of additional wide-scale studies are needed to critically validate the efficacy of vitamin D in autism spectrum disorder.”

Source: Saad K. Randomized controlled trial of vitamin D supplementation in children with autism spectrum disorder. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2016 Nov 21. doi: 10.1111/jcpp.12652. [Epub ahead of print]

© 2016 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health

Posted December 1, 2016.

Greg Arnold is a Chiropractic Physician practicing in Hauppauge, NY. You can contact Dr. Arnold directly by emailing him at PitchingDoc@msn.com or visiting his web site at www.PitchingDoc.com.

References:

  1. CDC. Autism Spectrum Disorder: Facts. 2016.
  2. CDC. Autism Spectrum Disorder: Data and Statistics. 2016; https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/data.html.
  3. Rimland, B. Autism Has High Costs to US Society. 2007. Autism Speaks.
  4. Saad K, Abdel-Rahman AA, Elserogy YM, et al. Vitamin D status in autism spectrum disorders and the efficacy of vitamin D supplementation in autistic children. Nutr Neurosci. 2016;19(8):346-351.
  5. Saad K, Eltayeb AA, Mohamad IL, et al. A Randomized, Placebo-controlled Trial of Digestive Enzymes in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Clinical psychopharmacology and neuroscience : the official scientific journal of the Korean College of Neuropsychopharmacology. 2015;13(2):188-193.
  6. Saad K. Response to letters: Randomized controlled trial of vitamin D supplementation in children with autism spectrum disorder – correction and additional information. Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines. 2018;59(1):e3-e5.
  7. American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 2013; https://www.psychiatry.org/psychiatrists/practice/dsm.
  8. Holick MF. Vitamin D deficiency. The New England journal of medicine. 2007;357(3):266-281.
  9. Schopler, E . Western Psychological Services. Childhood Autism Rating Scale In. Los Angeles 2010.
  10. Geier DA, Kern JK, Geier MR. A Comparison of the Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC) and the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) for the Quantitative Evaluation of Autism. Journal of mental health research in intellectual disabilities. 2013;6(4):255-267.
  11. Rimland B. Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist. 1999.
  12. Constantino, JN. Social Responsiveness Scale: Manual. Western Psychological Services. 2005.