Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32503251›Full record

ArticleNutrients2020

Vitamin D Status Is Not Associated with Cognitive or Motor Function in Pre-School Ugandan Children.

Agnes M Mutua, Margaret Nampijja, Alison M Elliott, John M Pettifor, Thomas N Williams, Amina Abubakar, Emily L Webb, Sarah H Atkinson

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nutrients, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

7 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Trial
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  4. Sleep Duration and Sun Exposure in Portuguese Children: Associations With Obesity Indicators.American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council · 2026
    Article
  5. Review
  6. Article
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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.

Agnes M MutuaKenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), Centre for Geographic Medicine Research-Coast, KEMRI Wellcome Trust Research Programme, P.O. BOX 230-80108 Kilifi, Kenya.ORCID 0000-0002-0072-0839
Margaret NampijjaMaternal and Child Wellbeing (MCW) Unit, African Population and Health Research Center, P.O. Box 10787-00100 Nairobi, Kenya.ORCID 0000-0002-1200-6042
Alison M ElliottMedical Research Council/Uganda Virus Research Institute and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Uganda Research Unit, P.O. Box 49, Entebbe, Uganda.
John M PettiforSouth African Medical Research Council and Wits Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit, Department of Paediatrics, University of the Witwatersrand, 26 Chris Hani Road, Soweto 6201, Johannesburg, South Africa.ORCID 0000-0003-1155-0334
Thomas N WilliamsKenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), Centre for Geographic Medicine Research-Coast, KEMRI Wellcome Trust Research Programme, P.O. BOX 230-80108 Kilifi, Kenya.ORCID 0000-0003-4456-2382
Amina AbubakarKenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), Centre for Geographic Medicine Research-Coast, KEMRI Wellcome Trust Research Programme, P.O. BOX 230-80108 Kilifi, Kenya.
Emily L WebbMRC Tropical Epidemiology Group, Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-4019-7456
Sarah H AtkinsonKenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), Centre for Geographic Medicine Research-Coast, KEMRI Wellcome Trust Research Programme, P.O. BOX 230-80108 Kilifi, Kenya.ORCID 0000-0002-8360-4402

Funding

Medical Research Council MC_UU_00027/5Medical Research Council MR/M025454/1Medical Research Council MR/R010161/1Wellcome Trust 064693Wellcome Trust 079110Wellcome Trust 095778Wellcome Trust 110255Wellcome Trust 202800Wellcome Trust 202800/Z/16/ZWellcome Trust 203077Wellcome Trust 209640
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Vitamin D deficiency is common worldwide and young children are among the most affected groups. Animal studies suggest a key role for vitamin D in brain development. However, studies investigating the effects of vitamin D on neurobehavioural outcomes in children are inconclusive and evidence is limited in sub-Saharan Africa. We evaluated the effect of vitamin D status on cognitive and motor outcomes using prospective data from the Entebbe Mother and Baby Study birth cohort. We analysed data from 302 Ugandan children with 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) measurements below five years and developmental measures at five years of age. We used multivariable linear regression, adjusted for potential confounders, to estimate the effect of 25(OH)D on cognitive and motor outcomes. Of 302 children, eight (2.7%) had 25(OH)D levels <50 nmol/L, 105 (35.8%) had levels 50-75 nmol/L and 189 (62.6%) had levels >75 nmol/L. There was no evidence that earlier vitamin D status was associated with cognitive and motor outcomes in five-year-old Ugandan children. This study adds to the sparse literature and highlights the need for further longitudinal studies on vitamin D and neurobehavioural outcomes in children living in sub-Saharan Africa.

Indexed as

Negative ResultsNutritional StatusAnimalsBlack PeopleBrainChildChild Nutritional Physiological PhenomenaChild, PreschoolCognitionHumansMaleMultivariate AnalysisProspective StudiesPsychomotor PerformanceUgandaVitamin D25-hydroxyvitamin DVitamin DAfricachildrencognitive functionmotor functionvitamin D

Identifiers

PMID32503251
PMCPMC7352320

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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.