title: Vitamin D and the occurrence of depression: causal association or circumstantial evidence?
abstract: While recent laboratory-based studies have substantially advanced our understanding of the action of vitamin D in the brain, much is still unknown concerning how vitamin D relates to mood. The few epidemiological studies of vitamin D and depression have produced inconsistent results and generally have had substantial methodological limitations. Recent findings from a randomized trial suggest that high doses of supplemental vitamin D may improve mild depressive symptoms, but important questions persist concerning how vitamin D may affect monoamine function and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis response to stress, whether vitamin D supplementation can improve mood in individuals with moderate-to-severe depression, and whether vitamin D sufficiency is protective against incident depression and recurrence. At this time, it is premature to conclude that vitamin D status is related to the occurrence of depression. Additional prospective studies of this relationship are essential.
authors.affiliation: Division of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Department of Public Health, School of Public Health and Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA. ebertone@schoolph.umass.edu
authors.forename: Elizabeth R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Bertone-Johnson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D015306:Biogenic Monoamines; D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology; D003863:Depression / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008875:Middle Aged; D011293:Premenstrual Syndrome; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D018167:Receptors, Calcitriol / Q000502:physiology; D016574:Seasonal Affective Disorder; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000502:physiology; D014808:Vitamin D Deficiency / Q000150:complications
chemical_list: D015306:Biogenic Monoamines; D018167:Receptors, Calcitriol; D014807:Vitamin D
references.citation: Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2006 Jan;38(1):173-8
references.pmid: 16394971
references.citation: Obstet Gynecol. 1990 Aug;76(2):302-7
references.pmid: 2371035
references.citation: Mol Psychiatry. 2007 Apr;12(4):331-59
references.pmid: 17389902
references.citation: Arch Intern Med. 2007 Nov 26;167(21):2329-36
references.pmid: 18039992
references.citation: J Nutr Health Aging. 1999;3(1):5-7
references.pmid: 10888476
references.citation: J Affect Disord. 2009 Nov;118(1-3):240-3
references.pmid: 19249103
references.citation: Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Mar;85(3):649-50
references.pmid: 17344484
references.citation: Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1961 Jun;4:561-71
references.pmid: 13688369
references.citation: Psychosom Med. 2000 Nov-Dec;62(6):779-82
references.pmid: 11138996
references.citation: Neurochem Res. 2006 Apr;31(4):533-9
references.pmid: 16758362
references.citation: Nutr Rev. 2008 Oct;66(10 Suppl 2):S182-94
references.pmid: 18844847
references.citation: J Endocrinol Invest. 2008 Apr;31(4):321-6
references.pmid: 18475050
references.citation: Neurosci Res. 2006 Apr;54(4):254-60
references.pmid: 16427152
references.citation: Psychopharmacology (Berl). 1989;97(3):285-94
references.pmid: 2497477
references.citation: J Chem Neuroanat. 2005 Jan;29(1):21-30
references.pmid: 15589699
references.citation: Am J Epidemiol. 2008 Jan 15;167(2):193-202
references.pmid: 17981889
references.citation: Nutr J. 2004 Jul 19;3:8
references.pmid: 15260882
references.citation: Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Aug;88(2):491S-499S
references.pmid: 18689389
references.citation: Biol Psychiatry. 1996 May 15;39(10):865-72
references.pmid: 9172707
references.citation: Epidemiol Rev. 2008;30:155-77
references.pmid: 18621743
references.citation: J Neurosci. 2008 Nov 12;28(46):11785-91
references.pmid: 19005040
references.citation: J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2007 Aug;92(8):2952-9
references.pmid: 17488795
references.citation: Psychopharmacology (Berl). 1994 Dec;116(4):515-6
references.pmid: 7701056
references.citation: Mov Disord. 2007 Mar 15;22(4):461-8
references.pmid: 17230473
references.citation: J Neurochem. 1985 Apr;44(4):1138-41
references.pmid: 3838342
references.citation: Br J Psychiatry. 2008 Oct;193(4):322-6
references.pmid: 18827296
references.citation: J Neurochem. 2006 Jan;96(2):500-9
references.pmid: 16336217
references.citation: N Engl J Med. 2008 Jan 3;358(1):55-68
references.pmid: 18172175
references.citation: Behav Brain Res. 2008 Mar 5;187(2):343-50
references.pmid: 17996959
references.citation: Am Fam Physician. 2006 Nov 1;74(9):1521-4
references.pmid: 17111890
references.citation: Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2008 May;65(5):508-12
references.pmid: 18458202
references.citation: J Clin Psychiatry. 2008;69 Suppl 2:6-13
references.pmid: 18537457
references.citation: Eur J Clin Nutr. 1999 Dec;53(12):920-6
references.pmid: 10602348
references.citation: Brain Struct Funct. 2008 Sep;213(1-2):93-118
references.pmid: 18704495
references.citation: Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2003 Aug;28 Suppl 3:25-37
references.pmid: 12892988
references.citation: Clin Rheumatol. 2007 Apr;26(4):551-4
references.pmid: 16850115
references.citation: Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2007 Mar;64(3):327-37
references.pmid: 17339521
references.citation: J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 2004 May;89-90(1-5):557-60
references.pmid: 15225838
references.citation: Clin Obstet Gynecol. 1992 Sep;35(3):587-98
references.pmid: 1521387
references.citation: Trends Endocrinol Metab. 2002 Apr;13(3):100-5
references.pmid: 11893522
references.citation: Arch Intern Med. 2005 Jun 13;165(11):1246-52
references.pmid: 15956003
references.citation: N Engl J Med. 1996 Oct 17;335(16):1176-81
references.pmid: 8815939
references.citation: Brain Res. 1982 Jun 24;242(2):387-90
references.pmid: 6288172
references.citation: J Neurol. 2006 Apr;253(4):464-70
references.pmid: 16283099
references.citation: Psychopharmacology (Berl). 1998 Feb;135(4):319-23
references.pmid: 9539254
references.citation: J Nutr Health Aging. 2006 Mar-Apr;10(2):151-3
references.pmid: 16554952
references.citation: J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 2007 May;104(3-5):274-80
references.pmid: 17482806
references.citation: Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2006 Aug;1074:261-71
references.pmid: 17105922
references.citation: J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2001 Feb;86(2):888-94
references.pmid: 11158062
references.citation: Brain Res Bull. 2006 Mar 15;69(1):74-8
references.pmid: 16464687
references.citation: Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2006 Dec;14(12):1032-40
references.pmid: 17138809
references.citation: Am J Hum Biol. 2006 May-Jun;18(3):415-7
references.pmid: 16634022
references.citation: Psychiatry Res. 1993 Oct;49(1):77-87
references.pmid: 8140183
references.citation: Osteoporos Int. 2005 Nov;16(11):1425-31
references.pmid: 15744449
references.citation: J Neural Transm (Vienna). 2000;107(7):839-42
references.pmid: 11005548
references.citation: Am J Physiol. 1983 Mar;244(3):E266-71
references.pmid: 6687510
references.citation: Behav Brain Res. 2005 Feb 28;157(2):299-308
references.pmid: 15639181
references.citation: Clin Obstet Gynecol. 1987 Jun;30(2):367-76
references.pmid: 3301135
references.citation: J Intern Med. 2008 Dec;264(6):599-609
references.pmid: 18793245
references.citation: Drug Alcohol Rev. 2006 Nov;25(6):515-36
references.pmid: 17132571
references.citation: Am J Psychiatry. 1997 Oct;154(10):1384-90
references.pmid: 9326820
references.citation: J Cell Biochem. 2003 Feb 1;88(2):296-307
references.pmid: 12520530
references.citation: Joint Bone Spine. 2008 May;75(3):273-9
references.pmid: 18375167
references.citation: J Am Coll Nutr. 2000 Apr;19(2):220-7
references.pmid: 10763903
references.citation: Am J Clin Nutr. 2004 Mar;79(3):362-71
references.pmid: 14985208
references.citation: J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1995 Jul;80(7):2227-32
references.pmid: 7608284
references.citation: Eur J Clin Nutr. 2008 Sep;62(9):1079-89
references.pmid: 17538533
references.citation: Brain Res Bull. 2005 Mar 15;65(2):141-8
references.pmid: 15763180