Physiological Factors Influencing Intelligence: The Role of Vitamin D3 and Magnesium in School Students

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.69923/nw0jd212

Keywords:

Intelligence, Mental age, Raven’s test, Vitamin D3, Magnesium

Abstract

Intelligence is increasingly recognized as a biologically influenced trait with a central role in shaping students' cognitive and academic development. This study aimed to investigate the association between vitamin D3 and magnesium levels and intelligence among school-aged students. A total of 90 male students from three types of schools (public, distinguished, and high-achieving) participated. The Standard Progressive Matrices (SPM) test was used to assess mental age and IQ before any intervention, and both SPM and Advanced Progressive Matrices (APM) were administered before and after a 15-day nutritional intervention involving walnuts and dark chocolate. Vitamin D3 and magnesium levels were also measured to assess physiological influences. Before the intervention, significant differences were observed between the three groups in both mental age and IQ. Post-intervention results showed a notable improvement in the public-school group, particularly in APM scores. The distinguished group showed improvement mainly in the SPM test, while the high-achievers group showed no significant changes. Vitamin D3 levels differed significantly among the groups, with higher levels in public students than in distinguished and high-achieving school students. In contrast, magnesium levels showed a different pattern, with public students having significantly higher mean levels, followed by high-achieving students, while distinguished school students had the lowest. The findings indicate that biological factors may contribute to differences in cognitive performance among student groups. Moreover, the nutritional intervention appeared to positively affect intelligence in students with initially lower cognitive scores, especially in public schools.

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Author Biographies

  • Najla Kamel, University of Anbar

    Najla Abbood Kamel is a Master’s student at the College of Education for Pure Science, University of Anbar, Iraq, in the Department of Life Sciences, majoring in physiology. She received her B.Sc. degree in 2022 from the College of Education for Pure Science, University of Anbar, in the Department of Life Sciences. She can be contacted via email: naj23u1014@uoanbar.edu.iq.

  • Muthanna Awad, University of Anbar

    Prof. Dr. Muthanna M. Awad is a Professor in the Biology Department at the College of Education for Pure Sciences, University of Anbar, Iraq. He received his Ph.D. in Animal Physiology from the University of Anbar. His research areas are Hematology, Physiology, Endocrinology, Cancer Epidemiology, and Oxidative Stress. He has published several scientific papers in national and international journals and conferences. He can be contacted via email: muthanna.awad@uoanbar.edu.iq

  • Fuaad Freh, University of Anbar

    Prof. Dr. Fuaad Mohammed Freh is a Professor in the Department of Educational and Psychological Sciences, College of Education for Humanities, University of Anbar, Iraq. He received his B.A. and M.A. degrees in Psychology from the College of Arts, University of Baghdad, Iraq, and his MPhil and PhD degrees in Clinical Psychology from the College of Health, Plymouth University, UK. His general specialization is Psychology, with a focus on Mental Health. He has published several scientific papers in national and international journals and conferences. He can be contacted via email: ed.fuad.muhammad@uoanbar.edu.iq.

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Published

30-03-2026

Issue

Vol. 3 No. 1 (2026): Volume 3, Issue 1

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Iraqi Journal for Applied Science

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References

Marshall,G.C.and H.W.Ohm 1987 .Yield responses of 16 winter wheat cultivars to row spacing and seeding rate .Agronomy Journal .79:1027-1030

How to Cite

[1]
N. . Kamel, M. Awad, and F. Freh, “Physiological Factors Influencing Intelligence: The Role of Vitamin D3 and Magnesium in School Students”, IJApSc, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 12–22, Mar. 2026, doi: 10.69923/nw0jd212.