Affiliation:
1. Chair of Psychiatry, Department of Systems Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
Abstract
:There is evidence that mental health disorders may have roots in fetal life and are associated with deficiencies in various micronutrients, including vitamin D. During pregnancy, vitamin D balance is influenced by an increase in maternal calcitriol and a substantial increase in maternal Vitamin D Binding Protein concentrations. In the early stages of life, vitamin D is necessary to mediate numerous brain processes such as proliferation, apoptosis, and neurotransmission. Furthermore, Vitamin D has a recognized anti-inflammatory activity that normally suppresses inflammation. Increased activation of hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) and inflammation during gestation may influence maternal health and fetal neurodevelopment during and beyond pregnancy. A deficit of Vitamin D and maternal stressful events during gestation, such as perinatal depression, could influence the efficacy of the immune system altering its activity.:Vitamin D deficiency during gestation associated with a reduction in fetal brain development has been widely described and correlated with alteration in the production of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor. To this regard, many studies highlights that low maternal vitamin D dosage during gestation has been related to a significantly greater risk to develop schizophrenia and other severe mental illnesses in later life. The objective of this paper is a comprehensive overview of maternal vitamin D balance in determining the fetal origins of mental health with some references to the link between vitamin D levels, inflammatory responses to stress and mental disorders in adult life.
Publisher
Bentham Science Publishers Ltd.
Subject
Drug Discovery,Pharmacology
Cited by
10 articles.
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