Relation between Vitamin D Level and Clinical Profile of Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

background: Recently, the role of micronutrients in the pathophysiology of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a matter of discussion; however, vitamin D received less attention. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study done over the relation between levels of vitamin D and clinical profile of children with ADHD. Aim: To examine serum vitamin D level among children diagnosed with ADHD and to detect if there is a relation between the deficiency of this vitamin (if present) and other criteria of the disease such as severity and type of symptoms. Subjects and methods: This is a cross-sectional study on N=130 children diagnosed with ADHD and a control group of healthy children (N=100). All participants were subjected to complete physical examination, socioeconomic assessment and measuring of serum 25 (OH) vitamins D. Children with ADHD were assessed using KID-SCID, Conner s scale, Stanford Binet Intelligence test. Results: Vitamin D level was significantly lower in children with ADHD (p=.001), negatively correlated with Conner s scale (ADHD severity) (p=.046), and more prevalent in children with the attention deficit type (p=.043). Conclusion: Low level of vitamin D is common in the attention deficit type and is associated with more severe illness.