title: Therapeutic effects of vitamin D as adjunctive therapy to fluoxetine in patients with major depressive disorder.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare the therapeutic effects of vitamin D3 plus fluoxetine and fluoxetine alone in patients with major depressive disorder.
  
  
  METHODS
  In the present double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial, 42 patients with a diagnosis of major depressive disorder based on DSM-IV criteria were randomly assigned into two groups to receive daily either 1500 IU vitamin D3 plus 20 mg fluoxetine or fluoxetine alone for 8 weeks. Depression severity was assessed at 2-week intervals using the 24-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) as a primary outcome measure and the 21-item Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) as a secondary outcome measure. Serum 25(OH) vitamin D was measured at baseline and after intervention.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Forty patients completed the trial. A two-way repeated-measures analysis of variance showed that depression severity based on HDRS and BDI decreased significantly after intervention, with a significant difference between the two groups. The vitamin D + fluoxetine combination was significantly better than fluoxetine alone from the fourth week of treatment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In the present 8-week trial, the vitamin D + fluoxetine combination was superior to fluoxetine alone in controlling depressive symptoms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition and Biochemistry, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Nayereh
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Khoraminya
authors.forename: Mehdi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tehrani-Doost
authors.forename: Shima
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jazayeri
authors.forename: Aghafateme
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hosseini
authors.forename: Abolghassem
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Djazayery
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002112:Calcifediol / Q000097:blood; D002762:Cholecalciferol / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D005473:Fluoxetine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
chemical_list: D005473:Fluoxetine; D002762:Cholecalciferol; D002112:Calcifediol