Vitamin D Deficiency May Improve Depression

In one of largest studies on vitamin D and depression ever conducted, researchers found that the lower the levels of the vitamin in someone’s blood, the greater their chances were of suffering from clinical depression

In a separate study, women with moderate to severe depression had substantial improvement in their symptoms of depression after they received treatment for their vitamin D deficiency.

 Because the women did not change their antidepressant medications or other environmental factors that relate to depression, the study authors concluded that correction of the patients' underlying shortage of vitamin D might be responsible for the beneficial effect on depression. "Vitamin D may have an as-yet-unproven effect on mood, and its deficiency may exacerbate depression," said Sonal Pathak, MD, an endocrinologist at Bayhealth Medical Center in Dover, Del. "If this association is confirmed, it may improve how we treat depression."

Pathak presented the research findings in three women, who ranged in age from 42 to 66. All had previously diagnosed major depressive disorder, also called clinical depression, and were receiving antidepressant therapy. The patients also were being treated for either Type 2 diabetes or an underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism). Because the women had risk factors for vitamin D deficiency, such as low vitamin D intake and poor sun exposure, they each underwent a 25-hydroxyvitamin D blood test. For all three women, the test found low levels of vitamin D,

Over eight to 12 weeks, oral vitamin D replacement therapy restored the women's vitamin D status to normal. After treatment, all three women reported significant improvement in their depression, as found using the Beck Depression Inventory.

Other studies have suggested that vitamin D has an effect on mood and depression. Screening at-risk depressed patients for vitamin D deficiency and treating it appropriately may be an easy and cost-effective adjunct to mainstream therapies for depression,"Dr Pathak said

Source: ScienceDaily.com

For more information on Vitamin D, we recommend the Vitamin D Council

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