Background: A frequent, early-onset, chronic developmental problem in children and adolescents is attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). ADHD's etiopathogenesis is unknown. Low vitamin D levels have been linked in several studies to a variety of illnesses and neuropsychiatric conditions. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the association between serum vitamin D levels in paediatrics and ADHD.
Methods: This is a case-control study conducted in a child psychiatry clinic, Ain shams children's hospital involving a total number of thirty ADHD patients diagnosed according to DSM-V criteria and thirty apparently healthy controls were included in the study during the period from June 2016 to January 2017, they were selected by simple random method. The age of both groups ranged from 6-16-year-old. Serum 25-OH-vitamin D level was evaluated in both groups.
Results: Serum 25-OH-vitamin D was significantly lower in children with ADHD than in healthy controls.
Conclusion: This study has evidenced a significantly low serum vitamin D level in children with ADHD. There is an association between lower 25-OH-vitamin D concentration and ADHD in childhood. Therefore there is a need for the treatment of patients with vitamin D deficiencies.