Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience (May 2022)

Research Progress on the Role of Vitamin D in Autism Spectrum Disorder

  • Jing Wang,
  • Haoyu Huang,
  • Chunming Liu,
  • Yangping Zhang,
  • Wenjuan Wang,
  • Zhuo Zou,
  • Lei Yang,
  • Xuemei He,
  • Jinting Wu,
  • Jing Ma,
  • Yun Liu

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2022.859151
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 16

Abstract

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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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