Chair of Psychiatry, Department of Systems Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy.
Department of Mental Health, ASL ROMA 1, Rome, Italy.
Curr Pharm Des. 2020;26(21):2497-2509. doi: 10.2174/1381612826666200506093858.
There is evidence that mental health disorders may have roots in fetal life and are associated with deficiencies in various micronutrients, including vitamin D. During pregnancy, vitamin D balance is influenced by an increase in maternal calcitriol and a substantial increase in maternal Vitamin D Binding Protein concentrations. In the early stages of life, vitamin D is necessary to mediate numerous brain processes such as proliferation, apoptosis, and neurotransmission. Furthermore, Vitamin D has a recognized anti-inflammatory activity that normally suppresses inflammation. Increased activation of hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) and inflammation during gestation may influence maternal health and fetal neurodevelopment during and beyond pregnancy. A deficit of Vitamin D and maternal stressful events during gestation, such as perinatal depression, could influence the efficacy of the immune system altering its activity. Vitamin D deficiency during gestation associated with a reduction in fetal brain development has been widely described and correlated with alteration in the production of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor. To this regard, many studies highlights that low maternal vitamin D dosage during gestation has been related to a significantly greater risk to develop schizophrenia and other severe mental illnesses in later life. The objective of this paper is a comprehensive overview of maternal vitamin D balance in determining the fetal origins of mental health with some references to the link between vitamin D levels, inflammatory responses to stress and mental disorders in adult life.
有证据表明，心理健康障碍可能起源于胎儿期，并与各种微量营养素的缺乏有关，包括维生素 D。在怀孕期间，维生素 D 平衡受到母体钙三醇增加和母体维生素 D 结合蛋白浓度显著增加的影响。在生命的早期阶段，维生素 D 对于介导许多大脑过程（如增殖、凋亡和神经递质传递）是必需的。此外，维生素 D 具有公认的抗炎活性，通常可抑制炎症。怀孕期间下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺轴 (HPA) 的过度激活和炎症可能会影响母亲和胎儿的神经发育。怀孕期间维生素 D 缺乏和母体应激事件（如围产期抑郁）可能会影响免疫系统的功效，改变其活性。怀孕期间维生素 D 缺乏与胎儿大脑发育减少有关，这已被广泛描述，并与脑源性神经营养因子的产生改变有关。在这方面，许多研究强调，怀孕期间母体维生素 D 剂量不足与日后患精神分裂症和其他严重精神疾病的风险显著增加有关。本文的目的是全面概述母体维生素 D 平衡在决定心理健康的胎儿起源方面的作用，并参考维生素 D 水平、对压力的炎症反应与成年期精神障碍之间的联系。
