SynthesisMolecular psychiatry2020
Neurodevelopmental effects of prenatal vitamin D in humans: systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Molecular psychiatry, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 69 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
69 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 113 citations in OpenAlex.
- Maternal and child nutrition insecurity, microbiome, and early neurodevelopment: an intricate interplay. Results from a systematic review.European journal of public health · 2026Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Association between interpregnancy interval and risk of autism spectrum disorder: a systematic review and Bayesian network meta-analysis.European journal of pediatrics · 2024Pooled it
- Maternal Vitamin D Levels during Pregnancy and Offspring Psychiatric Outcomes: A Systematic Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Pooled it
- Vitamin D and Multiple Health Outcomes: An Umbrella Review of Observational Studies, Randomized Controlled Trials, and Mendelian Randomization Studies.Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.) · 2022Pooled it
- 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 · 2020Pooled it
- How 25(OH)D Levels during Pregnancy Affect Prevalence of Autism in Children: Systematic Review.Nutrients · 2020Pooled it
- Effects of vitamin D deficiency on neurobehavioural outcomes in children: a systematic review.Wellcome open research · 2020Pooled it
- High-Dose Vitamin D3 Supplementation During Pregnancy and Test-Based Cognitive Performance at Age 10 Years: A Post Hoc Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA network open · 2026Trial
- Early life vitamin D and neurocognitive abilities at age 6-8 years: a randomized clinical trial and observational analysis.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2026Trial
- Comparison of Vitamin D, Neurofeedback, and Neurofeedback Combined with Vitamin D Supplementation in Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.Archives of Iranian medicine · 2022Trial
- Effect of High-Dose vs Standard-Dose Vitamin D Supplementation on Neurodevelopment of Healthy Term Infants: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA network open · 2021Trial
- High-Dose Vitamin D Supplementation in Pregnancy and Neurodevelopment in Childhood: A Prespecified Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA network open · 2020Trial
- Does gestational vitamin D attenuate the negative effects of prenatal depression on offspring emotional and behavioral problems? Findings in the ECHO cohort.Psychological medicine · 2026Article
- Vitamin D as a Lifespan Neuroimmune Signal in Psychiatry: From Developmental Risk to Precision Nutrition.Nutrients · 2026Review
- Fat-soluble vitamin deficiency in children with neurodevelopmental disorders: a cross-sectional study.BMC medicine · 2026Article
- Implications for the Prevention of Poverty-Related Environmental Risks for Childhood ADHD: A Narrative Review.Child psychiatry and human development · 2026Review
- Correction: Implications for the Prevention of Poverty-Related Environmental Risks for Childhood ADHD: A Narrative Review.Child psychiatry and human development · 2026Article
- Burden of Vitamin D Deficiency in Female Patients in Different Stages of Life: a Retrospective Study.Maedica · 2026Article
- Vitamin D and Vitamin D Analogues in Hemodialysis Patients: A Review of the Literature.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
9 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Diverse studies have investigated the impact of prenatal exposure to vitamin D levels on brain development; however, evidence in humans has never been systematically reviewed. This article summarized evidence of the association between 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] levels in maternal blood in pregnancy or newborn blood at birth and neurodevelopmental outcomes, including cognition, psychomotor performance, language development, behavioral difficulties, attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and autistic traits. PubMed, Web of Science and SCOPUS databases were systematically searched for epidemiologic studies published through May 2018 using keywords. Random-effects meta-analyses were conducted. Of 260 identified articles, 25 were included in the present review. Comparing the highest vs. the lowest category of prenatal 25(OH)D levels, the pooled beta coefficients were 0.95 (95% CI -0.03, 1.93; p = 0.05) for cognition, and 0.88 (95% CI -0.18, 1.93; p = 0.10) for psychomotor development. The pooled relative risk for ADHD was 0.72 (95% CI, 0.59, 0.89; p = 0.002), and the pooled odds ratio for autism-related traits was 0.42 (95% CI, 0.25, 0.71; p = 0.001). There was little evidence for protective effects of high prenatal 25(OH)D for language development and behavior difficulties. This meta-analysis provides supporting evidence that increased prenatal exposure to 25(OH)D levels is associated with improved cognitive development and reduced risk of ADHD and autism-related traits later in life. Associations represent a potentially high public health burden given the current prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency among childbearing aging and pregnant women.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.