Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25874075›Full record

ArticleMolecular autism2015

Autism spectrum disorder and low vitamin D at birth: a sibling control study.

Elisabeth Fernell, Susanne Bejerot, Joakim Westerlund, Carmela Miniscalco, Henry Simila, Darryl Eyles, Christopher Gillberg, Mats B Humble

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Molecular autism, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 77 papers, 10 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
77citing papers in PubMed, 10 pooled it
14.3field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

77 citing papers in PubMed, 10 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 163 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Steroid hormone pathways, vitamin D and autism: a systematic review.Journal of neural transmission (Vienna, Austria : 1996) · 2023
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  6. Maternal Dietary Factors and the Risk of Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Systematic Review of Existing Evidence.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research · 2020
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17 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.

Elisabeth FernellGillberg Neuropsychiatry Centre, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Kungsgatan 12, 411 19 Gothenburg, SE Sweden ; Research and Development Centre, Skaraborg's Hospital, Skövde, Sweden.
Susanne BejerotDepartment of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden ; Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden.
Joakim WesterlundDepartment of Psychology, University of Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden.
Carmela MiniscalcoGillberg Neuropsychiatry Centre, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Kungsgatan 12, 411 19 Gothenburg, SE Sweden.
Henry SimilaQueensland, Brain Institute, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
Darryl EylesQueensland, Brain Institute, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia ; Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
Christopher GillbergGillberg Neuropsychiatry Centre, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Kungsgatan 12, 411 19 Gothenburg, SE Sweden.
Mats B HumbleDepartment of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden.
University of Gothenburg · SEÖrebro University · SEUniversity of Queensland · AUStockholm University · SE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundInsufficient vitamin D activity has attracted increasing interest as a possible underlying risk factor in disorders of the central nervous system, including autism.

methodsIn this study, 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) was analysed in 58 Sweden-born sibling pairs, in which one child had autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and the other did not. The study group consisted of two representative samples; 47 Gothenburg sibling pairs with mixed ethnicities and 11 Stockholm sibling pairs with Somali background. 25(OH)D levels were analysed in the stored dried blood spots taken in the neonatal period for metabolic screening.

resultsThe collapsed group of children with ASD had significantly lower vitamin D levels (M = 24.0 nM, SD = 19.6) as compared with their siblings (M = 31.9 nM, SD = 27.7), according to a paired samples t-test (P = 0.013). The difference was - most likely - not only accounted for by a difference in season of birth between ASD and non-ASD siblings since the mean 25(OH)D levels differed with similar effect size between the sibling pairs born during winter and summer, respectively. All children with African/Middle East background, both the children with ASD and their non-ASD siblings, had vitamin D deficiency.

conclusionsThe findings suggest that low prenatal vitamin D may act as a risk factor for ASD, however, there is a need for replication with larger samples. Future research should study whether or not adequate supplementation of vitamin D to pregnant women might lower the risk for ASD in the offspring.

Indexed as

25-hydroxyvitamin DAutism spectrum disorderDried blood spotsNeonatalVitamin D

Identifiers

PMID25874075
PMCPMC4396835
OpenAlexW2135493800

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.