QJM. 2026 Aug 1;119(Supplement_1):hcag168.107. doi: 10.1093/qjmed/hcag168.107.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Dyslexia is defined as reading achievement below the expected level for a child’s age, education, and intelligence, with the impairment interfering significantly with academic success or the daily activities that involve reading. It is present in 5-17% of the population. It describes a kind of difficulty that some people have with reading that does not necessarily extend to other skills such as math.
AIM OF THE WORK: Evaluation of the effect of vitamin D supplementation on the dyslexic symptoms in children.
PATIENTS AND METHODS: This study conducted over a period of six months at the Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics clinic, Children’s Hospital, and the Phoniatrics Unit of the ENT Department, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University. , a controlled cross-sectional study included 80 children in 2 groups: 40 diagnosed with dyslexia as the case group, alongside 40 age- and sex-matched children without dyslexia serving as the control group, dyslexic children received rehabilitation sessions and vitamin D supplementation in the form of vitamin D3 drops, 300 IU/Kg/day not to exceed 5,000 IU/day for 3 months. Illinois test used to find out the efficiency of vitamin D supplementation in improvement of symptoms of dyslexic children, the test done for every case twice, the first time before starting vitamin D therapy and the second one after completing 3 months of vitamin D therapy side by side rehabilitation sessions.
RESULTS: Dyslexic children who received vitamin D3 supplementation and rehabilitation for 3 months showed statistically significant difference between pre- and post-vitamin D therapy in multiple neurobehavioral domains of the Illinois test (p < 0.05), including auditory reception, visual association, verbal expression, manual expression, visual closure, and auditory closure. In contrast, no significant differences were found in the remaining parameters, so vitamin D supplementation may support symptom improvement in dyslexic children when combined with rehabilitation therapy.
CONCLUSION: This study suggests a potential link between vitamin D and dyslexia symptoms in children. Vitamin D supplementation combined with rehabilitation lead to notable improvements in several neurobehavioral domains. These findings support the role of vitamin D in cognitive and language development and highlight the need for further research on its therapeutic potential.
PMID:42689342 | DOI:10.1093/qjmed/hcag168.107
