Pregnant women with vitamin D deficiencies are more than twice as likely to have a child with autism, according to a new study by Australian researchers.

The analysis of more than 4,000 blood samples from pregnant women and their children at the Queensland Brain Institute found that mothers who lacked vitamin D had “significantly higher” scores on autism scales than those with sufficient vitamin D.

Prof. John McGrath, the study’s lead author, said increasing vitamin D levels during pregnancy could reduce the prevalence of autism.

“Just as taking folate in pregnancy has reduced the incidence of spina bifida,” he says, “the result of this study suggests that prenatal vitamin D supplements may reduce the incidence of autism.”

McGrath’s previous research linked low vitamin D in babies’ blood to an increased risk of schizophrenia.

For information on the Institute of Livings’s Autism Consultation Service, click here.