Abstract
Background: In recent years, the impact of various micronutrients on the symptoms of ADHD and ASD has been studied. Our study was aimed at evaluating the association between the level of serum magnesium, zinc and ferritin in children diagnosed with ADHD and/or ASD. Methods: This case-control pilot study consisted of 32 children who met DSM-V criteria for ADHD, 15 children who met DSM-V criteria for ASD and 12 age-matched control children from Electronic Medical Record database. Serum magnesium, zinc and ferritin values were com-pared with ANOVA. Results: Blood ferritin level was found to be significantly lower in affected groups (F=5.9, p=0.0056). A trend towards decreased values of plasma zinc level was also found in affected children (F=2.25, p=0.12); whereas no suggestion of any difference in blood magnesium levels between three groups was significant. Non-parametric analyses were also run and the p value for ferritin 0.08, showed weaker evidence of significance. Conclusions: Results of this study indicated that low level of blood ferritin may be a risk factor for development of ASD and ADHD. Future investigations with larger controlled trials are needed and correlational studies would also be helpful.
Highlights
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common neuropsychiatric disorders that affects 8-12% of children worldwide [1,2]
Recent investigations on the neurobiology and treatment of ADHD have suggested that possible deficiencies of nutrients such as iron, zinc, magnesium and polyunsaturated fatty acids could be involved in the etiology of the disorder [10,11,12]
The aim of the present study was to test whether blood levels of zinc, magnesium and ferritin are altered in children with ADHD and/or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) compared to healthy control subjects
Summary
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common neuropsychiatric disorders that affects 8-12% of children worldwide [1,2]. The pathophysiology of ADHD is complex and not clearly understood [4,5], several lines of evidence in the cortical and limbic striatal areas might result in selective attention and behavioural inhibitions [2,8,9]. Suggest a relevance of the dopaminergic and noradrenergic Iron plays multiple roles in the brain. It is implicated in proper systems in the cause of ADHD [6,7]. Many studies using different methodologies have indicated that involved in monoamine neurotransmitter function including dopamine is a key element of ADHD pathophysiology. Some tyrosine hydroxylase which is critical in dopamine synthesis [13]. authors suggested that the lack of efficient dopaminergic control Iron is related with monoamine oxidase, which is important
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