Research Progress on the Role of Vitamin D in Autism Spectrum Disorder
Front Behav Neurosci. 2022 May 10;16:859151. doi: 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.859151
Jing Wang 1, Haoyu Huang 1, Chunming Liu 1, Yangping Zhang 1, Wenjuan Wang 1, Zhuo Zou 1, Lei Yang 1, Xuemei He 1, Jinting Wu 1, Jing Ma 2, Yun Liu 1
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that can lead to severe social behavioral difficulties, which mainly manifests as social communication and interaction disorders; narrow interests; and repetitive, stereotyped behaviors. In recent years, the prevalence of ASD has increased annually, and it has evolved from a rare disease to one with a high incidence among childhood developmental disorders. The pathogenesis of ASD is considered to be the interaction of genetic and environmental factors. There is increasing evidence that vitamin D deficiency in pregnancy and early childhood can lead to the occurrence of ASD. Studies have demonstrated that vitamin D intervention can significantly improve the symptoms of ASD, but the underlying mechanism is still unclear. Therefore, exploring the neuroprotective mechanism of vitamin D against ASD is a huge challenge currently being worked on by current basic and clinical researchers, a task which is of great significance for the clinical promotion and optimization of vitamin D in the treatment of ASD. To further clarify the relationship between vitamin D and ASD, this review summarizes the correlation between vitamin D level and ASD, the effects of vitamin D supplementation on ASD, the possible mechanism of vitamin D involved in ASD, and insights from ASD animal models.
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