Could Vitamin D Help to Prevent Depression?

Long-term supplementation with vitamin D does not affect risk of developing depression in older age, according to the results of a recent study.

Previous observational research has indicated a potential link between vitamin D levels and the prevalence of late-life depression and seasonal affective disorder. To examine whether supplementation with vitamin D could be used to mitigate the risks of developing these conditions, the researchers conducted a randomized clinical trial of 18,353 men and women aged 50 years and older. Among the participants, 16,657 had no history of depression and 1696 were at risk for recurrent depression.

The participants were randomly assigned to receive either 2000 IU/d of cholecalciferol (vitamin D3) and fish oil or to placebo, and 90.5% completed the trial (median treatment duration 5.3 years).

Overall, the researchers found that the risk of depression was not significantly different between the 2 groups, with 609 events occurring in the vitamin D group and 625 occurring in the placebo group. Further, no significantly differences in incidence, recurrence, or change in mood scores were observed between the groups.

“Among adults aged 50 years or older without clinically relevant depressive symptoms at baseline, treatment with vitamin D3 compared with placebo did not result in a statistically significant difference in the incidence and recurrence of depression or clinically relevant depressive symptoms or for change in mood scores over a median follow-up of 5.3 years. These findings do not support the use of vitamin D3 in adults to prevent depression,” they concluded.

—Michael Potts

Reference:

Okereke OI, Reynolds CF, Mischoulon D, et al. Effect of long-term vitamin D3 supplementation vs placebo on risk of depression or clinically relevant depressive symptoms and on change in mood scores. JAMA. 2020;324(5):471-480. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.10224