A team of researchers found that newborns without sufficient vitamin D levels have a 44% increased risk of being diagnosed with schizophrenia as adults when compared to newborns with normal levels. Led by professor John McGrath from Aarhus University and the University of Queensland, the study analyzed concentration of the vitamin in blood samples taken from 2,602 Danish newborns between 1981 and 2000 who went on to develop schizophrenia as young adults. He said the results confirm the outcome of an earlier study he performed, and also offer some methods to improve treatment of the disease in the future. Because a developing fetus is reliant on its mother’s vitamin D storage, he said that ensuring pregnant women have adequate levels could prevent some future cases of schizophrenia.