Vitamin-D deficiency during pregnancy The Swedish illness Viktoria Håkansson and Camilla Firing

Somali people in Sweden have 3-4 times higher frequency of autism than the Caucasian Swedish 50% of the population in Sweden suffer from Vitamin-D deficiency during winter months The most important source of Vit-D is sunlight and fatty fish During the winter months, there is a significantly lowered amount of sunlight rg/vitamin-d-improve- fetal-brain-health/

According to Nordic nutrition recommendations, children and adults should have a intake of 300 IU/day (1 IU= 0,025μg) Pregnant women: 400 IU/day Only 1% of pregnant women obtain this recommended dose On average, Swedish people consume 176 IU/day

Vit-D is important for the skeletal structure Decreased levels may lead to; - depression - osteomalacia - cardiovascular diseases - MS - diabetes - colon and breast cancer - preeclampsia Animal studies show that Vit-D deficiency during embryological development disturbs brain development

The Somali population of Sweden call the increased occurrence of autism the Swedish disease as autism is not frequent in east Africa The illness is believed to arise from an environmental difference between Scandinavia and east Africa - the MMB-vaccine - food and culture change

People with dark skin need 5-10 times more sunlight than a person with typically light skin The combination of low light intensity and covering clothing contributes to limit Vit-D uptake Differences in food cultures limit the uptake of Vit-D from fatty fish, milk and cheese The risk of extremely low Vit-D values was 6-8 x higher for women with mothers from Arab countries, Asia or Africa compared to German women A Dutch study showed that 90% of children born by women who wore religious garments that covered a large portion of their skin had Vit-D deficiency

High risk groups of the Swedish population and pregnant women are recommended supplements of 2000 IU/day Even if supplements do not cause prevention of autism, other health benefits are expected Adequate doses to restore the vit-D deficiency are not available in pharmacies (patent) Simular studies have been preformed from Pakistanis in Oslo and Arabs in Denmark The government responds to the issue by adding Vit-D to milk, orange-juice and cheese

Sources; S Bejerot, M Humble; Prevalence of autism in children born to Somali parents living in Sweden: a brief report x/pdf, published 19th March x/pdf S Bejerot, M Humble; Tidskrift for den Norske Legeforening; Nr. 17 – 11. september 2008; 128:1986-7http://tidsskriftet.no/article/ S Bejerot, M Humble; Dagens Näringsliv; blivit-en-halsorisk, blivit-en-halsorisk