Introduction: Autism is a complex neurobehavioral condition that affects communication through social interactions impairments. Vitamin D deficiency is a worldwide problem and Low vitamin D has been hypothesized as an environmental risk factor for Autism. According to high incidence of vitamin D deficiency and inadequacy during pregnancy that even reached up to 96 to 99.4 percent, and also the role of maternal vitamin D in brain development, cognitive function, and psychological function and its association with improved mental and psychomotor development, our study is to clarify if there is a relationship between maternal vitamin D deficiency and increased autism risk.
Methods: A literature search was conducted in electronic databases and we queried PubMed, Google Scholar, and Science Direct databases. The search strategy used the terms: autism, autism spectrum disorder, maternal, gestational, prenatal vitamin D deficiency, vitamin D adequacy during pregnancy. No restrictions were considered.8 studies were included in this review.
Results: studies showed that Mothers in autistic group had significantly lower maternal serum levels of the vitamin D, so there is an association between increased offspring risk of autism and low vitamin D serum levels, even a study shows more than the twofold increased risk compared with the sufficient group.
Conclusion: vitamin D substitution during pregnancy with safe, cheap and accessible supplementation may present an opportunity for prenatal intervention to prevent and reduce the risk of autism.