New research suggests that a deficiency of this vitamin can be a source of unhappiness
People suffering from depression may need to increase their vitamin D intake, says a group of international scientists investigating a treatment for the condition.
Vitamin D is found, among other things, in the meat of oily fish and fish liver oil. It is believed to regulate the central nervous system, which if disrupted could cause depression.
Previous meta-analyses on the effects of vitamin D supplementation on depression have been inconclusive – but that could soon be a thing of the past.
A new meta-analysis by a team of Finnish, Australian and American researchers looked at the link between vitamin D supplementation and depression. This was the largest study of its kind to date, including results from 41 studies from around the world.
The studies examined the effectiveness of vitamin D in relieving depressive symptoms in adults through randomized, placebo-controlled trials in different populations. The studies include those conducted on patients with depression in the general population, and in people with various physical conditions.
The results of the meta-analysis show that vitamin D supplementation is more effective than a placebo in relieving depressive symptoms in people with depression.
There were large differences in the vitamin D doses used, but generally the vitamin D supplement was 50-100 micrograms per day.
“Despite the broad scope of this meta-analysis, the certainty of evidence remains low due to the heterogeneity of the populations studied and due to the risk of bias associated with a large number of studies,” says doctoral researcher and lead author Tuomas Mikola from the Institute of Clinical Medicine from the University of Eastern Finland.
“These findings will encourage new high-level clinical trials in patients with depression to shed more light on the potential role of vitamin D supplementation in the treatment of depression,” concludes Mikola.
