Vitamin D and depression.
Vitamin D is an essential nutrient proven to be important for bone health. It has other physiological functions, and there are plausible reasons for investigating vitamin D in depressive disorders. Some cross-sectional clinical and epidemiologic studies, but not all studies, have found that low levels of vitamin D are significantly associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms or with a depression diagnosis. However, cross-sectional studies cannot establish causality, and the methodology of these studies has been criticized. Due to the poor quality of the treatment studies, the effectiveness of vitamin D for depression cannot be adequately assessed. Current evidence does not definitively demonstrate that vitamin D deficiency is a cause of or risk for developing depression or that vitamin D is an effective therapy for depression.
Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA. HowlandRH@upmc.edu
Robert H
RH
Howland
D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D016574:Seasonal Affective Disorder / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014808:Vitamin D Deficiency / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy
D014807:Vitamin D