The Relationship Between Vitamin D Deficiency, Anxiety, and Depression

Abstract

Vitamin D is a steroid hormone that plays several important physiologic roles. While most vitamin deficiencies are rare in the developed world, vitamin D is the only one that remains prevalent.Newer research on vitamin D has identified possible mechanisms through which it could affect mood.Therefore a correlation of vitamin D deficiency with anxiety and depression among students of the Faculty of Dentistry, Majmaah University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia were conducted. The Faculty of Dentistry, Majmaah University is located in Zulfi , a city in Riyadh Province in central Saudi Arabia.Blood samples were collected from 43 male students to check the serum levels of vitamin D. An anxiety scale consisting of 47 statements was used to determine the anxiety. The Beck Depression Inventory was used to record the depression.Analysis of the data indicated that Vitamin D deficiency was very prevalent among the given sample and showed a positive correlation with anxiety. However no positive correlation was seen with depression. Extensive studies should be conducted in different regions of Saudi Arabia to consider if vitamin D can be used for prevention and treatment of anxiety in this region.