A Systematic Review of Vitamin D during Pregnancy and Postnatally and Symptoms of Depression in the Antenatal and Postpartum Period from Randomized Controlled Trials and Observational Studies

Abstract

Depression is a common mood disorder associated with childbirth and is hypothesized to be affected by low vitamin D. This systematic review identified two randomized controlled trials (RCT) of vitamin D supplementation for the treatment or prevention of depressive symptoms in the perinatal period, as well as 18 observational studies of vitamin D exposure and depression in the antenatal and postnatal periods. Both RCTs claimed an improvement in depressive symptoms in the vitamin D group, although the sample sizes were too small to draw firm conclusions. The case-control and cohort studies had mixed findings and were limited by study quality. There were inconsistent results within the few studies with a more robust methodology or within samples restricted to women likely to have depression. The current evidence is inconclusive due to the poor quality and heterogeneity of studies, likely contributing to the contradictory findings. Given there are already numerous RCTs of prenatal vitamin D supplementation, we recommend adding an appropriate measure of depression in the perinatal period to assist in resolving the uncertainty.

Association between Vitamin D Levels During Pregnancy and Postpartum Depression: A Narrative Reviews

“…There is biological evidence for the association of VD and depression development, but more studies are needed to support the scarce literature that links VD level and depression outside of the prenatal period. [ 4 8 11 12 ] Longitudinal follow-up studies are needed to evaluate the impact of pre-postnatal VD level and PPD on both mother and infant health at different seasons, among different ethnic populations and among different socioeconomic groups.…”

“…[ 43 45 ] Multiple methodological variations among different studies including insufficiency of a confounders’ adjustment especially season, which is the main element that affects VD concentration. [ 11 ] In addition, measuring serum VD at different intervals gestational intervals. Also, variations may be due to differences in the study group population, differences in social status, ignoring the PP medical care in some studies, and self-reporting methods used to assess depression in some cases.…”

“…Also includes moods of insufficiency and the inability to care for the newborn. [ 7 11 ] These signs may last from a few weeks to more than 6 months. [ 12 ] Depression negatively influences women’s lives, their families, and the baby’s cognitive and behavioral development.…”

Multiple sclerosis with comorbidity depression and its association with vitamin D deficiency in a narrative review of the current literature

“…Today, VitD represents an important biomarker for pregnant women and those with postpartum depression [171,172]. It is therefore a valid request that a VitD supplementation be started at the beginning of a pregnancy and especially for women with known depressive mood swings, since these mothers had a negative perinatal outcome under VitD deficiency [172,173]. Early VitD supplementation reduced the risk of a shortened gestation period when s25(OH)D was above 40 ng/mL, increased birth weight, and increased infant length in the first year of life [169].…”