Do vitamin D-containing multivitamins help childrens brains?
Evidence that vitamin D affects mental abilities comes from a series of 14 controlled studies evaluating the effect of vitamin D-containing multivitamins on childhood intelligence. All 14 studies they reviewed reported small (1–2%) to modest (5–6%) improvements, usually in nonverbal IQ. Lancet published the first study in 1988. More interestingly, most studies showed no effect on the majority of children but very significant effects (15% gains) in about 20% of children, perhaps the vitamin D-deficient subgroup. Something in the multivitamins helped some of the children’s brains quite a bit. Was it the vitamin D? Benton D, Roberts G. Effect of vitamin and mineral supplementation on intelligence of a sample of schoolchildren. Lancet. 1988 Jan 23;1(8578):140–3.
