Abstract
There has been an increased interest in the role of vitamin D in depression; however, there have been few studies conducted in younger population groups. Our aim was to investigate the association between vitamin D status and depressive symptoms in a non-clinical young adult sample living in Dunedin, New Zealand. A cross-sectional sample of 615 young adults completed a questionnaire including demographics and the Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Height, weight and a blood sample for 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] was obtained. Serum 25(OH)D was used to predict depression scores, adjusting for potential confounders including time spent outdoors for 13 consecutive days, BMI, age, sex and ethnicity. Prevalence of low vitamin D was high even in this age group, and serum 25(OH)D was negatively associated with depression symptoms before and after adjustment. When investigating the relationship between the presence versus absence of depressive symptoms and quartiles of 25(OH)D, participants in the lowest quartile were more likely to report depressive symptoms compared with those in the highest quartile. Although our findings suggest that vitamin D is a predictor of depression symptomatology, even when controlling for time spent outdoors, a randomised controlled trial in this young adult target group is needed to confirm the association.
Highlights
There has been an increased interest in the potential role of vitamin D in mental health and wellbeing
Adjusted for age, gender, age, ethnic origin, body mass index (BMI), and time spent outdoors. In this population-based study of over 600 young adults, lower vitamin D status was associated with higher depression scores even after taking potential confounders including time spent outdoors into consideration
While several studies have evaluated the relationship between vitamin D and depression among older adults [23,24], the relationship in younger adults has not yet been investigated
Summary
There has been an increased interest in the potential role of vitamin D in mental health and wellbeing. There is some evidence that low circulating concentration of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D], the marker for vitamin D status, is associated with mood disorders, including major depressive disorder, seasonal affective disorder, and premenstrual dysphoric disorder [6,7]. Sun exposure is the major source of vitamin D for humans [8,9], and in the absence of adequate supplementation or suitable fortification, the concentration of circulating serum 25(OH)D decreases significantly during winter in non-equatorial locations [10]. Primary vitamin D deficiency is highly prevalent worldwide [12,13,14]. A high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency is present in most other areas, including those close to the equator [13]
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