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Vitamin D Improves Depression Apart From Affecting Certain Inflammatory Biomarkers
Eight weeks of vitamin D supplementation eased depression but did not affect certain inflammatory biomarkers in adults with mild to moderate depression, according to a randomized clinical trial published in BMC Psychiatry.
“Both augmented inflammatory reaction and low vitamin D status are associated with depression, but the magnitude of their relationships is unclear,” researchers explained in the study background. “This study was, therefore, conducted to evaluate the effects of vitamin D supplementation on serum 25(OH)D concentration, depression severity, and some pro-inflammatory biomarkers[.]”
The randomized, double-blind trial included 56 adults with mild to moderate depression from the outpatient clinics of Baharloo Hospital in Tehran, Iran. Participants were randomly assigned to 50,000 international units of cholecalciferol every 2 weeks or placebo over 8 weeks.
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Compared with baseline, patients who received vitamin D supplementation had significantly increased serum concentrations of 25(OH)D as well as improved depression severity at the end of the 8 weeks, according to the study. Beck Depression Inventory-II scores changed an average -11.75 ± 6.40 points with vitamin D supplementation compared with -3.61 ± 10.40 in patients who received placebo.
However, serum interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein concentrations did not differ between the groups, the study found, suggesting the effect was independent of those inflammatory biomarkers.
“[T]he results of [randomized clinical trials] aimed to investigate the effects of vitamin D on depression severity and pro-inflammatory biomarkers have been controversial,” researchers wrote, pointing out contrasting results in other recent studies. Vitamin D may could have a part in controlling inflammation and depression through various mechanisms, they observed.
“Our findings shed some light on the mechanisms underlying the pathophysiology of depression,” the authors concluded, “and may also be helpful for future preventive and therapeutic approaches.”
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