Editorial focused issue ‘The role of nutrition in child and adolescent onset mental disorders’

Abstract

the plasticity of the brain at this early age; structural and/ or functional damage may persist after repletion [1]. The central effect of nutrient deficiency or supplementation is dependent on the requirement of the central nervous system for a nutrient in specific metabolic pathways and structural components. A specific nutrient may promote normal brain development at one time point and be toxic at another. Furthermore, different concentrations of nutrients may be required during development. Concentrations of several nutrients are tightly regulated (e.g., iron) with aberrant brain development ensuing from both a deficiency and an excess. Important nutrients during late fetal and early neonatal life include protein, zinc, iron, copper, choline, and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA; 1).Prenatal exposure to an 'unhealthy diet' has been associated with ADHD symptoms, further linked to altered epigenetic modification of blood-derived DNA [2]. The study by Daraki et al. in this issue [3] illustrates how low maternal serum vitamin D concentrations during the first trimester were related to behavioral difficulties, especially ADHDlike symptoms, at preschool age in the child. As vitamin D amounts of the developing fetus are dependent on maternal stores, maternal vitamin D deficiency is of great concern for its consequences in the offspring. Maternal vitamin D performs a number of biological functions that are fundamental to early brain development [4], including proliferation and differentiation of brain cells [5], regulation of axonal growth [6], calcium signaling within the brain, and neurotrophic and neuroprotective actions [6]. These results may suggest that appropriate supplementation of vitamin D during pregnancy may reduce the incidence of behavioral difficulties and ADHD-like symptoms later in life in the offspring.The systematic review by Föcker et al. in this issue [7] illustrates that based on the results from 25 cross-sectional studies and 8 longitudinal studies, vitamin D seems to play a Childhood neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders are known to be complex conditions of multifactorial aetiology, involving both genetic and environmental determinants. There is a rapidly growing awareness that mental symptoms and psychiatric disorders are linked to nutrition. This focused issue of European Child+Adolescent Psychiatry will present a state-of-the-art overview of the topic of nutrition and child and adolescent psychiatric disorders, with the aim of moving this highly promising field forward by formulating a research agenda and to inform clinicians regarding the currently available therapeutic and preventive options.Food intake affects brain development and function in all age groups, starting from the phase in utero in terms of cognitive processes, mood, and brain performance. Accordingly, nutritional deficiencies can result in a vast array of age-dependent clinical symptoms, which affect the function of the central nervous system. Nutritional insults can have a particularly strong effect on the deve...

Contextual Effect of Preschool on the Development of Children Under Five in Surabaya, East Java

“…Food intake affects the development and function of the brain in all age groups, starting from pregnancy in terms of cognitive processes, moods, and brain performance. Therefore, nutritional deficiencies can cause a large number of clinical symptoms that depend on age, which affects the functioning of the central nervous system (Lambregts, 2017).…”