Vitamin D & Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a type of psychiatric condition known as a psychotic disorder. Schizophrenics often hear voices or suffer delusions, or false beliefs. These symptoms are believed to be caused by overactivity in a part of the brain that releases dopamine, according to the textbook "Synopsis of Psychiatry." However, some evidence links the development of schizophrenia with a deficiency of vitamin D, which may occur before birth.

Schizophrenia Facts

Schizophrenia afflicts approximately 1 percent of the population and usually begins before age 25. Persisting throughout life, it affects people of all social classes. Schizophrenia is characterized by such symptoms as delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech and erratic behavior. Depressed mood and inability to speak are called negative symptoms and are common in some schizophrenics.

About Vitamin D

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that functions as a hormone in your body. Your skin is able to produce the vitamin on exposure to sunlight. Vitamin D is also available in fish, eggs, butter, liver and fortified milk. The chief function of vitamin D is to regulate the amount of calcium in your blood. However, vitamin D has other functions, which include helping your immune system function properly. In addition, deficiency of vitamin D may affect your nervous system and contribute to the development of schizophrenia.

Vitamin D Hypothesis

Researchers at the Genetics Laboratory at McLean Hospital examined the relationship between the prevalence of schizophrenia and environmental factors such as sun exposure and intake of vitamin-D-rich foods, such as fish. Evidence showed that schizophrenia was more common in areas where sun exposure was less and fish consumption low. The results of the study support the theory known as the "Vitamin D Hypothesis," linking low levels of vitamin D with an increased risk for schizophrenia.

Vitamin D Levels in Infants

Vitamin D plays a part in the development of your nervous system. In addition, vitamin D plays a part in the expression of your genes, especially before birth. A study undertaken by researcher John McGrath of the University of Queensland in Australia, as discussed in the November 2010 issue of "Scientific American," found that infants with the lowest levels of vitamin D, due to decreased in utero exposure to the vitamin, had the greatest risk of developing schizophrenia as adults. However, infants with high levels of vitamin D also had an increased risk, so further research is required.