High Dose Vitamin D Supplementation Is Associated With a Reduction in Depression Score Among Adolescent Girls: A Nine-Week Follow-Up Study

Abstract

Although vitamin D deficiency is known to be a risk factor for some psychological disorders, there have been few studies on the effects of vitamin D supplementation on their symptoms. Depression and aggression are common mental disorders and are associated with disability and disease burden. We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of high-dose vitamin D supplementation on depression and aggression scores in adolescent girls. Nine hundred forty adolescent girls received vitamin D at a dose of 50,000 IU/week for 9 weeks. Anthropometric parameters and blood pressure were measured using standard protocols at the baseline and at the end of the study. Depression score was evaluated using the Beck Depression Inventory-II and aggression was evaluated using the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire at baseline and at the end of the study. Comparison among the four categories of depression score (normal, mild, moderate, and severe) revealed no significant differences in demographic and anthropometric parameters at baseline. After 9 weeks of vitamin D supplementation, there was a significant reduction on mild, moderate, and severe depression score. However, vitamin D supplementation had no significant effect on aggression score. Our results suggest that supplementation with vitamin D may improve depressive symptoms among adolescent girls, as assessed by questionnaire, but not aggression score. Formal, larger, randomized controlled studies are required to confirm this effect on cases with different degrees of depression.

A genetic variant in the cytochrome P450 family 2 subfamily R member 1 determines response to vitamin D supplementation

“…Biochemical factors including serum serum calcium (Ca),and phosphate (P), , fasting blood glucose (FBG), creatinie, blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and lipid profile; total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), measured by using commercial kits (Pars Azmun, Karaj, Iran) and the BT-3000 auto-analyzer (Biotechnica, Rome, Italy). Lowdensity lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) was estimated using Friedewald formula if serum TGs concentrations < 4.52 mmol/L [29][30][31]. High sensitivity C-reactive protein (Hs-CRP) was quantified using an immunoturbidimetry method, with limit of detection (LoD) 0.06 mg/L (Biosystems, Spain).…”

Effect of vitamin D deficiency on depressive symptoms in child and adolescent psychiatric patients: results of a randomized controlled trial

“…Although a recent uncontrolled intervention study in 940 Iranian adolescent girls showed a significant reduction in depression scores after 9 weeks of vitamin D supplementation [15], randomized controlled trials (RCTs) examining the antidepressant effect of vitamin D supplementation have not been conducted to date in children and adolescents. In adults, systematic reviews and meta-analyses of existing RCTs revealed conflicting results which might be explained by limitations in the study design of the included RCTs.…”

Genetic and epigenetic factors influencing vitamin D status

“…Several studies have reported a strong relationship between vitamin D status and different health outcomes (Bahrami et al, ; McCullough, Bostick, & Mayo, ; Tabatabaeizadeh et al, ). Attention has now turned to the gene‐environment interactions that could have an impact on various vitamin D‐related disorders (Ahn et al, ; Dickinson et al, ).…”