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Perhaps getting Vitamin D as infant decreases risk of Autoimmune Diseases as adult

Infants getting 2,000 daily were 5X less likely to get Type 1 Diabetes as an adult (Finland) – 2001

Intake of vitamin D and risk of type 1 diabetes: a birth-cohort study
Lancet 2001; 358: 1500-03
Elina Hyppönen, Esa Läärä, Antti Reunanen, Marjo-Riitta Järvelin, Suvi M Virtanen
Department of Paediatric Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Institute of Child Health, London WC1N 1EH, UK (E Hypponen PhD); and Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Imperial College School of Medicine, London (Prof M-R Jarvelin md); Tampere School of Public Health, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland (E Hypponen, S M Virtanen md); Department of Paediatrics, Tampere University Hospital, Tampere (S M Virtanen); Departments of Mathematical Sciences (Prof E Laara MSc) and Public Health Science and General Practice (M-R Jarvelin), University of Oulu, Oulu; National Public Health Institute, Helsinki (A Reunanen md,
S M Virtanen)
Correspondence to: Dr Elina Hypponen (e-mail: e.hypponen at ich.ucl.ac.uk)

Background Dietary vitamin D supplementation is associated with reduced risk of type 1 diabetes in animals. Our aim was to ascertain whether or not vitamin D supplementation or deficiency in infancy could affect development of type 1 diabetes.

Methods A birth-cohort study was done, in which all pregnant women (n=12 055) in Oulu and Lapland, northern Finland, who were due to give birth in 1966 were enrolled. Data was collected in the first year of life about frequency and dose of vitamin D supplementation and presence of suspected rickets. Our primary outcome measure was diagnosis of type 1 diabetes by end of December, 1997.
Findings 12 058 of 12 231 represented live births, and 10 821 (91% of those alive) children were followed-up at age 1 year. Of the 10 366 children included in analyses, 81 were diagnosed with diabetes during the study. Vitamin D supplementation was associated with a decreased frequency of type 1 diabetes when adjusted for neonatal, anthropometric, and social characteristics (rate ratio [RR] for regular vs no supplementation 0-12, 95% CI 0-03-0-51, and irregular vs no supplementation 0-16, 0-04-0-74. Children who regularly took the recommended dose of vitamin D (2000 IU daily) had a RR of 0-22 (0-05-0-89) compared with those who regularly received less than the recommended amount. Children suspected of having rickets during the first year of life had a RR of 3-0 (1-0-9-0) compared with those without such a suspicion.

Interpretation Dietary vitamin D supplementation is associated with reduced risk of type 1 diabetes. Ensuring adequate vitamin D supplementation for infants could help to reverse the increasing trend in the incidence of type 1 diabetes.
 Download the PDF from Sci-Hub via VitaminDWiki

Finnish study was cited 3,073 times as of Oct 2024

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Does more vitamin D as infant result in fewer autoimmune diseases as adult? Asked Perplexity AI - Oct 2024

Based on the available research, there is evidence suggesting that higher vitamin D levels in infancy and early childhood may be associated with a reduced risk of developing certain autoimmune diseases later in life:
Potential Protective Effects
Several studies have found links between early-life vitamin D status and autoimmune disease risk:

  • Vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy and early childhood has been shown to potentially reduce the risk of developing type 1 diabetes. One study found that children who regularly ingested 2,000 IU of vitamin D during the first year of life were 80% less likely to develop type 1 diabetes mellitus 1
  • Vitamin D deficiency as an infant has been implicated as a risk factor for the development of multiple sclerosis later in life. Studies have found that higher vitamin D levels before age 20 were associated with a lower risk of MS diagnosis   1
  • In animal models, vitamin D supplementation has been shown to prevent or delay the onset of autoimmune diseases   4

Mechanisms of Action
Vitamin D appears to play important roles in regulating the immune system:

  • It enhances innate immune responses against pathogens   2
  • It suppresses inflammatory immune responses involved in autoimmunity  2
  • Vitamin D signaling affects genes involved in inflammation and both innate and adaptive immunity   3

Clinical Evidence
While observational studies suggest a link, high-quality interventional evidence in humans is still limited:

  • A large randomized controlled trial found that vitamin D supplementation in adults for 5 years reduced autoimmune disease incidence by 22%   3
  • However, prospective studies specifically examining infant vitamin D levels and adult autoimmune disease risk are lacking   4

Conclusion
While the evidence is promising, more research is needed to definitively establish if higher vitamin D levels in infancy directly lead to fewer autoimmune diseases in adulthood. Nonetheless, ensuring adequate vitamin D status in early life appears prudent given its many potential health benefits. Consulting a pediatrician about appropriate supplementation is recommended.

Skewed epithelial cell differentiation and premature aging of the thymus in the absence of vitamin D signaling

Science Advances - Sep 2024 Vol 10, Issue 39 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adm9582

Central tolerance of thymocytes to self-antigen depends on the medullary thymic epithelial cell (mTEC) transcription factor autoimmune regulator (Aire), which drives tissue-restricted antigen (TRA) gene expression. Vitamin D signaling regulates Aire and TRA expression in mTECs, providing a basis for links between vitamin D deficiency and autoimmunity. We find that mice lacking Cyp27b1, which cannot produce hormonally active vitamin D, display profoundly reduced thymic cellularity, with a reduced proportion of Aire+ mTECs, attenuated TRA expression, and poorly defined cortical-medullary boundaries. Markers of T cell negative selection are diminished, and organ-specific autoantibodies are present in knockout (KO) mice. Single-cell RNA sequencing revealed that loss of Cyp27b1 skews mTEC differentiation toward Ccl21+ intertypical TECs and generates a gene expression profile consistent with premature aging. KO thymi display accelerated involution and reduced expression of thymic longevity factors. Thus, loss of thymic vitamin D signaling disrupts normal mTEC differentiation and function and accelerates thymic aging.
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Press release for the study: How vitamin D deficiency can lead to autoimmune diseases

by Keila DePape, McGill University
Reduced thymic cellularity and altered T cell development in CypKO mice. Credit: Science Advances (2024). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adm9582
As Canadians brace for "vitamin D winter"—months when the sun's angle is too low to produce the vitamin in the skin—a McGill University study explains why vitamin D deficiency early in life is associated with a higher risk of autoimmune diseases.

During childhood, the thymus helps train immune cells to distinguish between the body's own tissues and harmful invaders. A vitamin D deficiency at that stage of life causes the thymus to age more quickly, the researchers discovered.

The study is published in the journal Science Advances.

"An aging thymus leads to a 'leaky' immune system," said lead author John White, a Professor in and Chair of McGill's Department of Physiology. "This means the thymus becomes less effective at filtering out immune cells that could mistakenly attack healthy tissues, increasing the risk of autoimmune diseases like type 1 diabetes."

He noted that researchers have known for years that vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium for strong bones, and that more recent research has discovered its crucial role in regulating the immune system.

"Our findings bring new clarity to this connection and could lead to new strategies for preventing autoimmune diseases," he said.

Although the research was conducted with mice, the findings are relevant to human health because the thymus functions similarly in both species, White added.

The importance of a sunlight substitute
The findings highlight the importance of adequate vitamin D intake, especially for children.

"In places like Montreal, where we stop making the vitamin from sunlight between late fall and early spring, supplementation is key," said White. "If you have a young child, it's important to consult with your health-care provider to ensure they're getting enough."

The breakthrough builds on a 2001 Finnish study, which followed more than 10,000 children. It found that children who were supplemented early in life with vitamin D had up to a five-fold-lower risk of developing type 1 diabetes later in life.

Finland, with its long periods of vitamin D winter, served as an ideal case study to learn more about the nutrient's many roles, said White.

In the McGill study, researchers used mice that couldn't produce vitamin D to examine how the deficiency affected the thymus, employing cell analysis and gene sequencing to see how it impacts the immune system.

In future studies, White hopes to explore how vitamin D affects the human thymus, something he notes has not been done before.

Infants with high vitamin D were 2X less likely to get Multiple Sclerosis decades later - 2 studies

  • Vitamin D status during pregnancy and risk of multiple sclerosis in offspring of women in the Finnish Maternity Cohort - 2016 May FREE PDF
  • Neonatal vitamin D status and risk of multiple sclerosis: A population-based case-control study - Jan 2017 FREE PDF

VitaminDWiki – Autoimmune category contains

See also web: consensus that ~50 diseases are autoimmune, ~50 more are suspected:

Perhaps getting Vitamin D as infant decreases risk of Autoimmune Diseases as adult        
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