Association of Serum Vitamin A and D Status with Neuropsychological Development Outcomes in Children Aged 4 to 24 Months: A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND

We aimed to assess the prevalence of serum Vitamin A and D status and their potential association with neuropsychological development outcomes in Southern China.

METHODS

A hospital-based retrospective study was conducted in Guangzhou, China, with 4,206 children aged 4 to 24 months between 2018 and 2020. Data from the hospital's electronic database included serum levels of Vitamin A and D, along with neuropsychological outcomes. Linear regression model was used to assess the association between serum Vitamin A and D status and neuropsychological outcomes, while multiple binary logistic regression model was applied to determine the association of these Vitamins' levels with different neuropsychological developmental delays, adjusting for age, gender, and other potential confounders.

RESULTS

Overall, 12.7% of children were found to be deficient in Vitamin A, while 2.5% were deficient in Vitamin D. Marginal Vitamin A deficiency (MVAD) was prevalent in 58.5% of the children, and 19.4% exhibited Vitamin D insufficiency (VDI). Neuropsychological developmental delays were observed in 7.7% to 16.8% of the children across various domains. However, there were no significant differences in neuropsychological outcomes among children with varying Vitamin A and D statuses (P-value>0.05). Even after adjusting for potential confounders, the association between Vitamin A and D levels and neuropsychological development outcomes remained statistically non-significant.

CONCLUSION

Our study reveals a higher prevalence of VAD and MVAD in children than VDD and VDI. However, neither Vitamin A nor Vitamin D status showed a significant association with neuropsychological development outcomes in early childhood.