Low Maternal Vitamin D causing Schizophrenia?

[Faebinder]

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http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/116895.php

I was wondering how accurate or known is this point? I never heard of it before. It's a bit surprising that it's calcium and not sodium. Any information out there on this?

 

[whopper]

Don't know anything about Vit D with the etiology of schizophrenia, but then again, there's so much we don't know that we got to explore.

On a similar note, I did see an article correlating low Omega 3 intake with development of schizophrenia & nuts I tossed the article out just a few days ago. This isn't the same article but it addresses the issue.
http://journals.indexcopernicus.com/fulltxt.php?ICID=13218

The article I read--2 groups--both with several red flags putting them @ high risk for schizophrenia, one group was given a regular diet, the other rich in Omega 3's. The Omega 3 group had a dramatically lower number developing schizophrenia.

Other etiologies I heard, of the following--these have been well documented--birth month--higher incidence of prenatal viral infections correlates with increased risk, genetics (twin studies, family etc).

Others that are not so well documented, some on the cutting edge--exposure to T. gondii, even in a mother who is immune to T. gondii can increase risk (remember immunitiy doesn't mean total immunity, just means that antibodies exist & can allow for quicker response by the immune system), advanced paternal age--> causes point mutations in sperm which in studies have been correlated with increased risk of schizophrenia & autism.

 

[Chimed]

Others that are not so well documented, some on the cutting edge--exposure to T. gondii, even in a mother who is immune to T. gondii can increase risk (remember immunitiy doesn't mean total immunity, just means that antibodies exist & can allow for quicker response by the immune system)

There is an interesting article in the American Journal of Psychiatry (2008;165:99-106) about Toxoplasma gondii for those interested. Here is the abstract:

Selected Infectious Agents and Risk of Schizophrenia Among U.S. Military Personnel

David W. Niebuhr, M.D., M.P.H., M.Sc., Amy M. Millikan, M.D., M.P.H., David N. Cowan, Ph.D., M.P.H., Robert Yolken, M.D., Yuanzhang Li, Ph.D., and Natalya S. Weber, M.D., M.P.H.
OBJECTIVE: A number of studies have reported associations between Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) infection and the risk of schizophrenia. Most existing studies have used small populations and postdiagnosis specimens. As part of a larger research program, the authors conducted a hypothesis-generating case control study of T. gondii antibodies among individuals discharged from the U.S. military with a diagnosis of schizophrenia and serum specimens available from both before and after diagnosis. METHOD: The patients (N=180) were military members who had been hospitalized and discharged from military service with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. Healthy comparison subjects (3:1 matched on several factors) were members of the military who were not discharged. The U.S. military routinely collects and stores serum specimens of military service members. The authors used microplate-enzyme immunoassay to measure immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody levels to T. gondii, six herpes viruses, and influenza A and B viruses and immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibody levels to T. gondii in pre- and postdiagnosis serum specimens. RESULTS: A significant positive association between the T. gondii IgG antibody and schizophrenia was found; the overall hazard ratio was 1.24. The association between IgG and schizophrenia varied by the time between the serum specimen collection and onset of illness. CONCLUSION: The authors found significant associations between increased levels of scaled T. gondii IgG antibodies and schizophrenia for antibodies measured both prior to and after diagnosis.

 

[Faebinder]

I am very very cautious of claims of infectious agents causing chronic diseases. It's possible but likely an aftermath rather than a cause. Meaning... if you are a person picking up schizophrenia soon... your negative symptoms did not just suddenly show up and likely slowly became evident. In the process of gaining negative symptoms, you likely exposed yourself to a lot more infectious diseases than the average person with no negative schizophrenia symptoms.... likewise to mothers of patients who end up with schizophrenia.

Correlation does not imply causation.. especially in infectious etiology.

 

[whopper]

Of course, and its something we need to put into perspective. Schizophrenics for example are often homeless & exposed to more infectious agents.

I'm currently suspecting there is a link between T. gondii & schizophrenia.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/01/060125082853.htm
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/463678?rss

However given the lack of data, I'm merely suspecting it. This is something that should be further explored in more studies.