Summary: Lower exposure to UVB rays during pregnancy has been linked to an increased risk of learning disabilities in children. According to the study, lower UVB exposure during the first trimester had a slightly stronger correlation with neurodevelopmental disorders.
Source: University of Glasgow
Too little sunlight – and specifically UVB exposure – in pregnancy has been linked with a higher risk of learning disabilities.
In a new study looking at more than 422,500 school-age children from across Scotland, researchers found that low UVB exposure during pregnancy was associated with risk of learning disabilities.
UVB exposure from sunlight is linked to the production of the essential nutrient vitamin D in the body.
Publishing their results in the journal Scientific Reports, University of Glasgow researchers linked sunshine hours data from the Met Office with the month in which children were conceived. They found that there was a statistically significant relationship between lower UVB exposure over the whole of pregnancy and the risk of learning disabilities.
The relationship was specific to UVB (not UVA) suggesting that the effect of sunlight was likely to be working via production of vitamin D.
During the antenatal period, the foetus undergoes rapid development and growth, making it susceptible to environmental exposures, with the potential of long-term consequences. Maternal UVB exposure promotes the production of vitamin D, which is important for normal brain development of a foetus.
The researchers also found a slightly stronger relationship with low UVB exposure in the first trimester, suggesting that early pregnancy may be the most vulnerable to the effects of insufficient UVB.
As a result of low levels of UVB radiation from sunlight, vitamin D deficiency is common over winter months in high latitude countries such as Scotland. With Scottish residents twice as likely to be vitamin D deficient than people living in other parts of the UK.
Professor Jill Pell, Director of the University of Glasgow’s Institute of Health and Wellbeing and lead author of the study, said: “Learning disabilities can have profound life-long effects on both the affected child and their family. The importance of our study is that it suggests a possible way to prevent learning disabilities in some children. Clinical trials are now needed to confirm whether taking vitamin D supplements during pregnancy could reduce the risk of learning disabilities.”
The researchers also found a slightly stronger relationship with low UVB exposure in the first trimester, suggesting that early pregnancy may be the most vulnerable to the effects of insufficient UVB. The image is in the public domain.
Of the 422,512 schoolchildren included in the study, 79,616 (18.8%) had a learning disability, 49,770 (23.1%) boys and 29,846 (14.4%) girls. The percentage of children with learning disabilities varied by month of conception, ranging from 16.5% among children conceived in July, to 21.0% among those conceived in February, March and April.
Dr Claire Hastie, who did the analysis, said “Our study linked routinely collected health and education data with environmental data enabling us to study a very large number of children in a way that would not be possible using traditional methods.”
The study, ‘Antenatal exposure to solar radiation and learning disabilities: Population cohort study of 422,512 children’ is published in Scientific Reports.
Funding: The work was funded by HDR UK (Health Data Research UK).
Source:
University of Glasgow
Media Contacts:
Ali Howard – University of Glasgow
Image Source:
The image is in the public domain.
Original Research: Open access
“Antenatal exposure to solar radiation and learning disabilities: Population cohort study of 422,512 children”. Ola Nakken, Haakon E. Meyer, Hein Stigum, Trygve Holmøy.
Scientific Reports. doi:10.1038/s41598-019-45562-9
Abstract
Antenatal exposure to solar radiation and learning disabilities: Population cohort study of 422,512 children
Learning disability varies by month of conception. The underlying mechanism is unknown but vitamin D, necessary for normal brain development, is commonly deficient over winter in high latitude countries due to insufficient ultraviolet radiation. We linked the 2007–2016 Scottish School Pupil Censuses to Scottish maternity records and to sunshine hours and antenatal ultraviolet A/B radiation exposure derived from weather stations and satellites respectively. Logistic regression analyses were used to explore the associations between solar radiation, then ultraviolet B, and learning disabilities, adjusting for the potential confounding effects of month of conception and sex. Of the 422,512 eligible, singleton schoolchildren born at term in Scotland, 79,616 (18.8%) had a learning disability. Total antenatal sunshine hours (highest quintile; adjusted OR 0.89; 95% CI: 0.86, 0.93; p < 0.001) and ultraviolet B exposure (highest quintile; adjusted OR 0.55; 95% CI: 0.51, 0.60; p < 0.001) were inversely associated with learning disabilities with evidence of a dose-relationship. The latter association was independent of ultraviolet A exposure. Significant associations were demonstrated for exposure in all three trimesters. Low maternal exposure to ultraviolet B radiation may play a role in the seasonal patterning of learning disabilities. Further studies are required to corroborate findings and determine the effectiveness of supplements.
