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Study indicates that vitamin D starts to exert its impact in the womb, expert reports
Children whose mothers drink lots of milk and have a high intake of vitamin D-rich foods in their diet during pregnancy are much less likely to develop multiple sclerosis (MS) later in life, according to researchers.
For the new study, the researchers looked at 35,794 U.S. nurses whose mothers offered information regarding their experiences and dietary intake during pregnancy. The nurses in the study were monitored for 16 years, and during that follow-up period, 199 of them developed multiple sclerosis.
In a news release issued by the American Academy of Neurology, Dr. Fariba Mirzaei, of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, said that the odds for multiple sclerosis among daughters born to mothers "who consumed four glasses of milk per day [during pregnancy] was 56 percent lower than daughters whose mothers consumed less than three glasses of milk per month."
According to Mirzaei, they also found that the risk of MS among daughters born to mothers belonging to the top 20 percent in terms of vitamin D intake during pregnancy was 45 percent lower than those born to mothers in the bottom 20 percent of vitamin D consumption during pregnancy.
The findings of the study were published online Feb. 9 and will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s annual conference to be held in April in Toronto.
Mirzaei said that there is mounting proof that vitamin D has an impact on MS, adding that the findings of this study indicate that this impact may have its starting point in the mother’s womb.
Fortified milk, salmon and other fatty fish, as well as exposure to the ultraviolet rays of the sun are the three principal sources of vitamin D.
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