Prenatal vitamin D status and risk of psychotic experiences at age 18years - a longitudinal birth cohort

BACKGROUND: Low early life vitamin D status is associated with an increased risk of schizophrenia and psychotic experiences. Here we examine if maternal pregnancy vitamin D concentrations are associated with offspring psychotic experiences as young adults. METHODS: A community sample of 2047 participants was investigated. Maternal prenatal 25 hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentrations were assessed with tandem mass spectroscopy. Psychotic experiences were assessed at age 18years using a semi-structured clinical interview. RESULTS: 177 cohort members reported suspected or definite psychotic experiences, There was no evidence of an association between maternal 25(OH)D concentrations as quartiles (p=0.85 hypothesis test of general association versus no association across the quartiles) or as a continuous variable (p=0.89) versus experience of suspected and definite psychotic experiences at 18years. Within the cohort, only 29 subjects met criteria for a psychotic disorder at age 18. Based on this sample, there was no significant association between maternal 25(OH)D and psychotic disorder at 18years. DISCUSSION: Maternal vitamin D levels were not associated with risk of psychotic experiences nor psychotic disorders in this birth cohort.