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Vitamin D deficiency in pregnancy is linked to autism traits in the child

qbi.uq.edu.au

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Re: Vitamin D deficiency in pregnancy is linked to autism traits in the child

#31

Post by walshemj »

cydonian_monk wrote: post #27
jasonkostempski wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would they cover it if you did have symptoms? If so, here are some vague symptoms to "have" for your doctor: difficulty thinking clearly, bone pain, unexplained fatigue.

In my experience, no. When I was first tested for Vit-D deficiency the test was not covered, period. I had every symptom in the book (largely because I was extremely Vit-D deficient). My insurance even went so far as to relabel it as emergency bloodwork and tried to charge/fine upwards of $3,000 for it. The doctor's office then retracted the claim and just ate the cost, so I ended up paying nothing. The whole affair…

3k for just a single test? wow glad I am in the UK

Re: Vitamin D deficiency in pregnancy is linked to autism traits in the child

#32

Post by cowardlydragon »

DoodleBuggy wrote: post #5

Wouldn't we be seeing "hot spots" in darker northern climates and trouble-free zones in sunnier southern locations? The most compelling linkages I have seen are to certain pesticide / herbicide exposures and pollution exposures.

In Minnesota, the Somali immigrants allegedly never saw autism until they came here, and they get a lot of it now.

They call it the "Minnesota Disease".

I also once read that Cable television penetration rates were correlated with autism as well...

Re: Vitamin D deficiency in pregnancy is linked to autism traits in the child

#33

Post by leekyle »

Somalian children living in Minnesota have a higher rate of autism compared to whites and non whites. They have also noticed this in Stockhom as they also have a lot of Somalian immigrants. Researches have found "The increased prevalence remained and was now between four and five times higher in children of Somali background. A clinical observation was that more than 80%, in addition to autism and learning disability, had a profound hyperactivity." http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1469-8749.2010.... People have hypothesized vitamin D could be contributing to this as having darker pigmentation makes it harder to absorb sunlight.

Re: Vitamin D deficiency in pregnancy is linked to autism traits in the child

#34

Post by klodolph »

amelius wrote: post #28
raverbashing wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just take it. You need to consciously take a very high dose to have an excess Vit. D amount "according to some research, the tolerable upper intake level (UL) is 4,000 IU/day for ages 9–71,[51] while other research concludes that, in healthy adults, sustained intake of more than 1250 μg/day (50,000 IU) can produce overt toxicity after several months" Common supplements are 5ug/10ug per day

You can also take cod-liver oil, like people did in the old days. That will give you vitamins A and D, and the essential omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA.

Yeah, but the utility of taking those other supplements is not well substantiated. That's not to say that the utility of taking vitamin D is very well substantiated either, but at least there is some good evidence that suggests that it is.

Re: Vitamin D deficiency in pregnancy is linked to autism traits in the child

#35

Post by klodolph »

cowardlydragon wrote: post #32
DoodleBuggy wrote: post #5

Wouldn't we be seeing "hot spots" in darker northern climates and trouble-free zones in sunnier southern locations? The most compelling linkages I have seen are to certain pesticide / herbicide exposures and pollution exposures.

In Minnesota, the Somali immigrants allegedly never saw autism until they came here, and they get a lot of it now. They call it the "Minnesota Disease". I also once read that Cable television penetration rates were correlated with autism as well...

Well, to be perfectly fair, we never "saw" it before 1943, either. I'm not trying to be flippant, our society is set up in a way to diagnose cases of autism, and it is reasonable to suspect that the increased rates of diagnosis are not all caused by increased rates of the condition.

Re: Vitamin D deficiency in pregnancy is linked to autism traits in the child

#36

Post by scotch_drinker »

exhilaration wrote: post #13
nabla9 wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Be aware that this study is about vitamin D deficiency. It's not start for some crazy health trend. You can go and check you vitamin D levels and if you don't get enough, use supplements to correct the situation.

Can any HNers recommend a cheap and accurate vitamin D test I can do at home? I asked my doctor for a vitamin D test at my last checkup and he warned me that my insurance probably wouldn't pay for it since "many people are asking for one these days without any symptoms of deficiency". Since I had no idea what the lab might end up charging me for it (in the U.S.) I decided against getting the test.

I've used WellnessFX and been very happy with it. Not sure what cheap means to you but the Baseline Diagnostics only is $198.

https://www.wellnessfx.com/baseline

Re: Vitamin D deficiency in pregnancy is linked to autism traits in the child

#37

Post by PerfectElement »

exhilaration wrote: post #13
nabla9 wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Be aware that this study is about vitamin D deficiency. It's not start for some crazy health trend. You can go and check you vitamin D levels and if you don't get enough, use supplements to correct the situation.

Can any HNers recommend a cheap and accurate vitamin D test I can do at home? I asked my doctor for a vitamin D test at my last checkup and he warned me that my insurance probably wouldn't pay for it since "many people are asking for one these days without any symptoms of deficiency". Since I had no idea what the lab might end up charging me for it (in the U.S.) I decided against getting the test.

Here in Canada it is not covered either. I pay $30 each time I want to have it tested.

Re: Vitamin D deficiency in pregnancy is linked to autism traits in the child

#38

Post by oh_sigh »

leekyle wrote: post #33

Somalian children living in Minnesota have a higher rate of autism compared to whites and non whites. They have also noticed this in Stockhom as they also have a lot of Somalian immigrants. Researches have found "The increased prevalence remained and was now between four and five times higher in children of Somali background. A clinical observation was that more than 80%, in addition to autism and learning disability…

Do they have higher rates of autism than Somalis in Somalia?

Re: Vitamin D deficiency in pregnancy is linked to autism traits in the child

#39

Post by nwah1 »

jtolj wrote: post #29
exhilaration wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can any HNers recommend a cheap and accurate vitamin D test I can do at home? I asked my doctor for a vitamin D test at my last checkup and he warned me that my insurance probably wouldn't pay for it since "many people are asking for one these days without any symptoms of deficiency". Since I had no idea what the lab might end up charging me for it (in the U.S.) I decided against getting the test.

Hope this isn't considered spammy by anyone, I certainly have no incentive (financial or otherwise) to recommend it, but there's a company called "Life Extension" that allows you to order blood tests online. They email you paperwork, you take that to a local lab and then get your results online. It looks like Vitamin D is $47. I used it for a while when I was suffering from a health issue that required regular blood…

I second this. I use Life Extension. However, I've been paying out of pocket. I'm interested if there's a way to get it covered at all.

By the way, this is really just using LabCorp, and you can order similar tests directly via LabCorp. Might be worth price shopping between them, and checking out their different test options.

Re: Vitamin D deficiency in pregnancy is linked to autism traits in the child

#40

Post by hrez »

exhilaration wrote: post #13
nabla9 wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Be aware that this study is about vitamin D deficiency. It's not start for some crazy health trend. You can go and check you vitamin D levels and if you don't get enough, use supplements to correct the situation.

Can any HNers recommend a cheap and accurate vitamin D test I can do at home? I asked my doctor for a vitamin D test at my last checkup and he warned me that my insurance probably wouldn't pay for it since "many people are asking for one these days without any symptoms of deficiency". Since I had no idea what the lab might end up charging me for it (in the U.S.) I decided against getting the test.

www.directlabs.com has it for $59 They also run promos time to time. I have no affiliation. Though I would expect this test to be covered as part of your physical but check your insurance etc.
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