Depression & Vitamin D Deficiency

This study examined 10 randomized trials (nine were randomized placebo-controlled trials [RCTs]; one was a randomized blinded comparison trial) and 20 observational (cross-sectional and prospective) studies (Okereke & Singh, 2016). What did the researchers find? In 13 of the observational studies, they found a correlation between vitamin D deficiency and mood (e.g., depression). But in the placebo-controlled, randomized trials — the gold standard of drug and supplemental research — they found something very different. “Results from all but one of the RCTs showed no statistically significant differences in depression outcomes between vitamin D and placebo groups.” In other words, the group of people who received vitamin D supplements didn’t differ significantly from the group of people who received a sugar pill (placebo) on their depression scores. This suggests that vitamin D supplements don’t really help much, if at all. Another big study published in 2014 — the Pro V.A. Study — also examined vitamin D concentration levels in 1,039 women and 636 men aged 65 and older (Toffanello et al., 2014). Their findings were also not good. “Although an independent inverse association between 25OHD levels and GDS scores emerged for women on cross-sectional analysis, vitamin D deficiency showed no direct effect on the onset of late-life depressive symptoms in our prospectively studied population.” In other words, while they...
Source: Psych Central - Category: Psychiatry Authors: Tags: Depression Disorders General Psychology Treatment Depression Causes help with depression Mood Disorder Seasonal Affective Disorder Vitamin D vitamin d and depression vitamin d and mood vitamin d deficiency Source Type: news