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Vitamin D levels in children and adolescents with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): a meta-analysis

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ADHD Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorders

Abstract

The aim of this article was to assess the differences in serum 25(OH)D levels between children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and healthy controls. We used the PubMed (1966–2017), Scopus (2004–2017), ClinicalTrials.gov (2008–2017), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials CENTRAL (2000–2017), and Google Scholar (2004–2017) databases. Statistical meta-analysis was performed with RevMan 5.3. Εight studies were finally included in the present meta-analysis with a total number of 11,324 children. Among them, 2655 were diagnosed with ADHD, while the remaining 8669 were recruited as healthy controls. All eight trials reported significantly lower serum concentrations of 25(OH)D in patients diagnosed with ADHD compared to healthy controls. The pooled data showed that there was a significant difference between the ADHD group and the control group (SMD = − 0.73, 95% CI [− 1.00, − 0.46]). The systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies demonstrated an inverse association between serum 25(OH)D and young patients with ADHD. Large cohort studies are required to investigate whether vitamin D-deficient infants are more likely to develop ADHD in the future. Also, whether children with ADHD should be supplemented with higher doses of vitamin D3 remains to be confirmed through long-term controlled clinical trials.

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Notes

  1. Vitamin D as a therapeutic adjunct in the stimulant treatment of ADHD. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03103750?term=vitamin+D&cond=ADHD&rank=1.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Experimental Surgery and Surgical Research N.S. Christeas, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece

    Evangelia Kotsi, Elisavet Kotsi & Despina N. Perrea

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  1. Evangelia Kotsi
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  2. Elisavet Kotsi
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  3. Despina N. Perrea
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Correspondence to Evangelia Kotsi.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in all studies in our review.

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Kotsi, E., Kotsi, E. & Perrea, D.N. Vitamin D levels in children and adolescents with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): a meta-analysis. ADHD Atten Def Hyp Disord 11, 221–232 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12402-018-0276-7

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