NEW YORK, May 21: A large study involving The University of Queensland has found that newborn babies with low vitamin D levels are more likely to develop mental health conditions such as ADHD, schizophrenia, and autism later in life.

Researchers looked at the vitamin D levels of 71,793 people, many of whom were diagnosed with mental disorders during childhood or early adulthood. This is the biggest study of its kind.

Professor John McGrath from UQ’s Queensland Brain Institute led the research, which was done in partnership with Aarhus University and the State Serum Institute in Denmark. The team studied six mental health conditions: major depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, ADHD, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and anorexia.

“We found that babies with lower levels of vitamin D had a higher risk of developing schizophrenia, ADHD, and autism,” Professor McGrath said.

Previous studies had already suggested a link between low vitamin D at birth and both schizophrenia and autism. This new research looked at more mental health conditions and also used two vitamin D-related markers and genetic data for a deeper analysis.

Professor McGrath said the findings support the idea that giving vitamin D supplements to pregnant women and babies might help lower the chances of mental illness later in life.

“Vitamin D is very important for a baby’s brain development, and many pregnant women around the world have low levels of it,” he said. “That’s why vitamin D supplements are already recommended during pregnancy in many countries.”

He compared this to the way folate supplements are used during pregnancy to prevent birth defects like spina bifida. “In the same way, our study suggests that making sure babies have enough vitamin D could reduce the risk of several mental health problems.”

The research used data from the iPSYCH study, which began in Denmark in 2012 to explore mental health issues. Vitamin D comes mainly from sunlight, but it can also be found in some foods and supplements.

The study results were published in The Lancet Psychiatry. Funding came from the Danish National Research Foundation, the Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research, and the University of Queensland.