By Jimmy Downs

Wednesday April 24, 2013 (foodconsumer.org) -- A new report in Dermato-endocrinology suggests that pregnant women should get sunshine often or taking vitamin D supplements to maintain an adequate serum level of vitamin D if they want to reduce the risk of autism in their babies.  

John J. Cannell and William B. Grant, two vitamin D experts, reported in the journal that a growing body of evidence suggests that higher prenatal serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D or 25(OH)D concentrations in utero or in early life can lower the risk for autism.

The authors cited an ecological study which inversely associated the solar UV-B exposure with the prevalence of autism among those aged 6 to 17 years in the United States.

Another study revealed that children with autism had lower serum vitamin D levels, compared with those without the disease, 19 vs. 33 ng/mL even though the time spent outdoors was similar in both groups.

Also, among children with autism, high levels of serum vitamin D had a better autism rating and the antineuronal antibody, indicating that vitamin D can also reduce the symptoms of autism.

The authors explained "Because activated vitamin D, a secosteroid, upregulates DNA-repair genes, vitamin D deficiency during development may inhibit the repair of de novo DNA mutations in fetuses and infants and thus contribute to risk of autism."

The researchers also proposed that "vitamin D might also reduce the risk or severity of autism through its anti-inflammatory actions, antiautoimmune effects, increasing seizure threshold, increasing T-regulatory cells, protecting the mitochondria, and upregulating glutathione, which scavenges oxidative by-products and chelates (captures and excretes) heavy metals." 

They pointed out that "Vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy and childhood is a widespread and growing epidemic."

The report suggests that pregnant women need to expose themselves to the sun often or taking vitamin D supplements to maintain a healthy serum level of vitamin D.