Could Your Child's Anxiety Be A Pyrrole Disorder?
One possible piece of the puzzle when a child seems anxious, overwhelmed, or “on edge", is something called Pyrrole Disorder. While still considered a theory, many clinicians (myself included) have found it helpful when trying to understand why some kids get stuck in cycles of stress.
I’ll walk you through what we know, what we suspect, and how parents can explore this safely and thoughtfully.
What Is Pyrrole Disorder in Kids?
Pyrrole Disorder was first described in the 1950s and expanded on through the 70s and into today. The idea is that some people produce too much of a compound called hydroxyhemopyrrolin-2-one (HPL), often shortened to pyrroles. This compound shows up in the urine in excessive amounts when the body is under emotional, physical, or oxidative stress.
The concern comes from how HPL behaves in the body. Pyrroles can bind to zinc and vitamin B-6, pulling them out of circulation. Because these nutrients are essential for mood regulation, digestion, energy, and nervous system health, losing them too quickly can create or worsen symptoms of anxiety.
Researchers like Dr. Abram Hoffer, Dr. Carl Pfeiffer, and Dr. William Walsh have shaped the theory over decades. Today, practitioners like Julia Ross and Trudy Scott write about how pyrroles affect mood from a clinical perspective, and Dr Aimie Apigian includes it as a factor to consider in the Biology of Trauma. I include pyrroles as a possible factor when working with anxious or dysregulated kids.
How Excess Pyrroles May Affect Your Child’s Anxiety
If pyrroles are high, zinc and B-6 can drop. Magnesium often becomes low as well, and fatty acids may also fall out of balance. These changes ripple through the nervous system and can leave a child feeling fragile and overwhelmed.
Simply put, the nutrient deficiencies associated with high pyrroles keep kids stuck.
Here’s what low zinc, low B-6, and high oxidative stress can look like:
- Trouble making and transporting serotonin and dopamine leading to increased sadness, anxiety, low motivation, fogginess, and inattention.
- Weak early bonding (if mother has low zinc or B-6) leading to a child's heightened fear and anxiety later in life.
- Digestive struggles like stomach pain, picky eating, microbiome imbalance, poor nutrient absorption.
- Slower detoxification which leads to mood swings, irritability, higher stress load.
- Low magnesium which results in less protection for the brain and fewer calming neurotransmitters.
- Lower energy production, poor sleep, slower cognitive function, and anemia.
- Excess pyrroles themselves add biological stress and inflammation.
This combination can trap a child in a stress cyclone, where their body can’t quite settle, even when nothing “big” seems wrong on the outside.
Common Signs of Pyrrole Disorder in Children
After reviewing over 40,000 urine tests, Dr. Walsh noted patterns seen in people with high pyrroles. Not every child will have all of these, but here are some common signs:
Emotional and behavioral signs:
- Anxiety (particularly social anxiety and separation anxiety),
- Poor appetite and nausea (especially in the morning),
- Nervous exhaustion,
- Stress avoidance,
- Negative thinking,
- Inner tension and hiding of feelings,
- Sensitivity to noise and bright light
- Volatile mood (major mood swings when stressed)
Physical or developmental clues:
- Learning struggles (especially reading)
- Family history with more females than males
- Early greying of hair
- Strong craving for salty or spicy foods
- “Pot belly” in adulthood with thin wrists/ankles
- Poor dream recall
- Poor short-term memory
- Sensory sensitivities
Conditions that often correlate (not diagnoses):
- ADHD
- Mood disorders
- Autism spectrum conditions
- PTSD
- Alcoholism
- Schizophrenia
- Deviant and criminal behavior in adults
- Down’s syndrome
I offer this list to help guide your curiosity. A pot belly alone doesn’t mean high pyrroles. But if several signs cluster together, especially alongside anxiety and stress sensitivity, pyrrole testing might be worth considering.
How Do You Test for Pyrrole Disorder?
Pyrroles are measured using a Kryptopyrrole Quantitative Urine Test. Because HPL breaks down quickly, samples must reach the lab within 24 hours to be accurate, so this test is not available everywhere.
According to DHA Labs (the only lab I trust for accurate Pyrrole testing),
"Pyrrole disorder is an abnormality in biochemistry resulting in the overproduction of pyrrole molecules. Excess pyrrole molecules effectively work to deplete vitamin B6 and zinc. A high incidence of pyrrole disorder is found in individuals with: ADHD, Depression, Post-Traumatic Stress, Behavioral Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, Alzheimer's Disease, Autism, Schizophrenia."
Their urine test, combined with a symptoms questionnaire, can help determine whether excessive pyrroles might be contributing to your child’s anxiety and whether they may need targeted nutritional support.
What Causes High Pyrroles?
The exact cause of elevated pyrroles isn’t fully understood. What we know is that pyrroles are a natural bi-product of red blood cell production and that some people produce too much. From there, there is much disagreement.
Here's what we suspect so far as to what can increase pyrroles:
- Genetic tendency
- Stress hormones
- Emotional stress
- Blood sugar swings
- Gut dysfunction
- Some medications (like prednisone)
- Chronic infections, mycotoxins, and other biological stressors
The pattern we see is circular: stress raises pyrroles, and high pyrroles raise stress. Kids who are already sensitive can get swept up in this cycle.
Is Pyrrole Testing Necessary?
Think of anxiety as the result of a web of interacting stressors. Pyrroles may be one strand of that web.
While some practitioners consider pyrrole disorder to be a foundational aspect that can lie upstream of dysfunction in any system that requires zinc and B-6, critics suggest that it's too transient a marker to be considered reliable.
After training with the Walsh Research Institute and working with my own caseload of anxious kids, I'm convinced that elevated pyrroles are one possible explanation for an increased need for supplemental Zinc and B-6. Pyrroles can help explain why some kids are moving through life with an overly sensitive nervous system and can shed light on why they might have been skewed towards a stressed state in the early days of life.
But at the same time, Zinc and B-6 can be low for reasons other than pyrroles, such as:
- Limited dietary intake
- Poor digestion or absorption
- Genetic variants affecting nutrient transport
- High demand due to chronic stress
- Imbalances in other minerals
So while a high pyrrole test can guide supplementation and help track progress, a normal test doesn’t rule out nutrient needs. A pyrrole test doesn’t replace the need to take a full look at nutrient intake, digestion, sleep, blood sugar stability, or environmental stress.
What Helps Bring High Pyrroles Down?
When pyrroles are high, most practitioners recommend core supplements (based on weight and supervision):
- Zinc
- B-6 in both pyridoxine and P-5-P form
- Antioxidants
If pyrroles are extremely high:
- Avoid omega-3 fatty acids temporarily
- Add Evening Primrose Oil to support zinc absorption
But supplements alone are not enough. Zinc and B-6 won’t absorb well without:
- Enough protein
- A varied, whole-food diet
- Stability in blood sugar
- Supportive digestion
Real nourishment, day after day, is what helps stabilize the nervous system so a child can function and grow.
The Bottom Line: Could Pyrroles Be Driving Your Child’s Anxiety?
Elevated pyrroles are not the whole story, but they may help explain why some kids feel anxious, overwhelmed, or emotionally rigid. Many families I’ve worked with have seen meaningful improvements like better sleep, calmer moods, more flexible behavior, when we address pyrroles with targeted nutrition and antioxidants.
It’s not a perfect science, but it is a helpful lens. When we support nutrient levels, digestion, and stress tolerance, kids often move out of that stress cyclone and into a place where they can finally settle, learn, and connect.
If pyrroles are high, nutrition becomes a powerful tool.
If pyrroles are not high, nutrition is still a powerful tool.
Either way, you’re supporting your child’s biology so their nervous system can feel safe again.
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