Vitamin D may help relieve symptoms of depression because the vitamin regulates some functions of the central nervous system. These are the findings of a study led by the University of Eastern Finland.
Wolfgang Kempkens, pte
Image: Pixabay
Vitamin D may alleviate depression in adults, according to a meta-study by an international team of researchers University of Eastern Finland suggests. The experts have evaluated dozens of studies from all over the world according to scientific criteria.
Antidepressants partially effective
Depressive symptoms cause a significant burden of disease worldwide. The therapeutic effectiveness of current antidepressants is often insufficient, which is why nutrition researchers, for example, are looking for new ways to alleviate symptoms. According to researcher Tuomas Mikola, vitamin D regulates the functions of the central nervous system, disorders of which are associated with depression. In addition, cross-sectional studies have observed an association between depressive symptoms and vitamin D deficiency.
The new meta-analysis on links between vitamin D supplementation and depression is the largest published to date. Previous studies have examined the effectiveness of vitamin D in relieving depressive symptoms in adults in different population groups. They included patients with depression, the general population and people with various physical illnesses. The results show that vitamin D supplementation is more effective than placebo at relieving depressive symptoms. There has been wide variation in the doses of vitamin D used, but typically it has been 50 to 100 micrograms per day.
320 million people affected
The results are not unambiguous, says Mikola. He therefore proposes that specific research be carried out into the effects of vitamin D supplements in depressed people, which are administered in addition to standard treatment with medication. A solution to the problem would be a boon to mankind, because depression suffers aloud World Health Organization more than 320 million people worldwide.