Healthnotes Newswire (May 3, 2007)—Asthma rates in the northeastern part of the United States are the highest in the nation—and vitamin D deficiency may be one reason, new research shows.
The body can make vitamin D, but only when skin is exposed to sunlight. Pregnant women who live in areas where sunlight is scarce are at a higher risk of vitamin D deficiency, and their children may suffer for this lack later on.
Regarding the effect of maternal diet in pregnancy on the risk of childhood asthma, Carlos A. Camargo, MD, DrPH, associate professor of Medicine & Epidemiology at the Harvard Medical School, and lead author of the new study said, “A few years ago we noted similarities between risk factors for vitamin D deficiency and risk factors for asthma. Vitamin D has many effects on the immune system, so we hypothesized that higher maternal vitamin D intakes might be protective against the development of childhood asthma.”
